Just How Far I'd Go For You: Bound By Silence
by Uchiha' Mikomi-Aii
Summary: Haruno Sakura returns to Konohagakure after years of being listed K.I.A, a lioness at her feet and her 'Promise' in arms. "What the heck is this!" Naruto exclaims, confusion etched across his matured features.
1. Prologue

Prologue.

_Now tell me, who do you think I am? Huh?  
You don't even know me  
Well did you think about this._

_-x-_

_I could be your crook or your lover  
I could be the one or the other  
If you'd look beneath you'd discover  
You just don't know me!_

_-x-_

_Tell me who do you think you see  
You're standing in your corner, looking out on me  
You think am so predictable  
Tell me who do you think I am  
Looks can be deceiving  
Better guess again  
Tell me what you see  
When you look at me._

_-x-_

_You look at your neighbour thinking, 'what a guy'  
Cos he's got a nine to five  
And I bet that you don't realize  
He stalks you while you sleep at night  
Yet your scared of the homeless guy  
Think he's gonna wanna start a fight  
Never judge a book by its cover._

_-x-_

_You're probably thinking that I want those things  
Cash, cars, diamond rings  
Thinking on my side the grass is green  
But you don't know where I have been  
I could be a wolf in disguise  
I could be an angel in your eyes  
Never judge a book by its cover._

_Christina Millian, When you look at me._

* * *

It was an ordinary lazy afternoon for most shinobi. The sun shone brightly overhead, casting a warm glow over everything in its wake. The breeze was gentle, like a lovers touch. Birds chirped happily in the distance, from within the thick forest trees. Everything was so calm and serene. Happy and settled.

Silently mocking her.

The path was clean and cobbled. There was no grass or weeds poking out the slabs, none of them were cracked -with their own story- nothing making it unique. They were all smooth and rounded, the exact same colour, cream. It was so very plain. Just a standard, well kept path.

But for her, this path meant so much more. So many hopes and dreams. It held so many memories that ran at her all at once -the good and the bad- as she walked down it, she felt slightly overwhelmed. The memories flittered through her mind. From the first time she ever stepped foot outside the village, with her team; to the very last mission, -she walked alone- that changed her life forever.

The last time she ever moved out of those large red gates -she missed so much- she never thought she'd be here like this now, but she was. And she wouldn't change a damn thing, not even if she could turn back time. But that's not to say she wasn't nervous, because there'd never been a time her stomach flipped and her heart pounded so hard against her chest; in all her 10 years of being a kunoichi.

She was nervous, scared, worried.. and guilty, beyond belief.

Nevertheless, she had to do this.. didn't she? Had she made the right decision?.. She hoped so. There was no going back now, not really. She could but that would be wrong; she had a promise to make after all -one that she planned to keep- but it was so hard. At the moment it seemed impossible to keep, eventually with time, maybe she could move on.. Maybe.

The young woman took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, a single tear rolling down her pale cheek. She hugged her _'__promise__'_tighter to her body as she made the last few steps towards the village. Her home. The only sounds she could hear were beating of her heart as her pulse quickened and four paws padding almost silently, down the path beside her.

Her steps faltered for a moment, knowing full well ANBU were on there way. She glanced down at her feline companion. "You ready, Aii?"

Aii nuzzled her warm nose against the side of the woman's leg, as she made a quiet yet comforting, "Rawr" to her mistress.

The ex-kunoichi of this village, shifted her gaze up to the top of the gate post. She looked at the leaf engraved symbol intently and then fixed her gaze ahead with a soft sigh. _"__I made the right decision, Am keeping my promise. This is for the best.__" _She repeated over and over again like a mantra in her head.

_"__Konoha, am home.__" _She whispered quietly.

She let the chakra she was concealing, up until this point, flare out a little. There was no need to hide now. She was ready. And so she took small but confidant steps, into what she hoped was still home.

As she approached the guard post, she heard a rustle of papers shortly followed by the sliding of a draw, as it opened then closed. She didn't hear the footsteps as the shinobi on duty exited, but that was to be expected. Her gaze stayed downward, not because she was ashamed, but because she didn't want to see the disapproving looks, of betrayal.

She continued to walk until she heard a loud, bubbly voice that made her stop dead in her tracks. "Sasuke-teme, what you staring at?" The voice shot through her like kunai through her flesh.

The pink-haired kunoichi slowly lifted her head as she glanced at the man about 15 yards ahead. He was clad in the usual jounin uniform, instead of sandals, he wore boots. The raven bangs that framed his face were longer, and his hair still stuck up at the back. She had yet to look into his eyes, to study his face.

Bravely she did. The usual stotic Uchiha looked shocked and confused. He stood there with his mouth slightly agape, and his brows furrowed. After a moment or so went by he recomposed himself and smirked at her. It was as close to a smile she was going to get. He looked so much like _him_.

And then he spoke, "Something very interesting, Dobe."

Her eyes watered as she felt the emotions whirl around. Something broke inside of her. Something she simply couldn't explain. He was happy and well. All because of her. Of course he wouldn't give her funny looks and hate her for betraying him. He of all people knew, everyone deserves a second chance. We are all _human_ after all.

"What the _hell_ are you talking about! I mean, you _never_ find anything _interesting_, Teme." His eyes narrowed slightly as he peaked his head round the corner at Sasuke. Then his gaze flicked to whatever caught his friends interest.

His eyes widened, as the wind picked up his long blonde strands. Blue eyes glistened with tears. He closed his eyes as he shook his head. "No.." He whispered hoarsely.

Sakura locked gazes with her blonde team-mate, from so many years ago. If she hadn't broke before, she broke then. The sadness, pain and over joy-ed, cerulean orbs stared at her in awe; as they softened.

"Sa-Sakura.." He whispered, like he still didn't believe it.

She dropped to her knees. One arm bracing her fall and the other still wrapped tightly around her _'__Promise__'__. _Aii lay on the floor in front of her. Cushioning her mistress a little from the fall.

Both her boys, flashed to her side in an instant as they looked down at her.  
They both placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, to let her know they were there, and wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon.

Unshed tears streamed down her face, glinting in the sunlight. Her first team mates fingers subconsciously tightened hold of her shoulders as she said in a broken whisper;

"Sasuke.. Naruto.. Am home."

* * *

_A/N: Some of you may find this weird, but from here its going to go back in time. The sequel will be from this chapter forward. It was a weird idea of mine but I hope it works. I hope you guys liked it anyways, please do review and let me know what you think._

_**Rudii**__eee-__**Miko**__mii__**.x**_


	2. Chapter One, Seven Years Previous

* * *

  
Chapter One: Seven Years Previous.  


* * *

"You called for me, Shishou?" a pink-haired kunoichi asked as she entered the Hokage's office, quietly closing the door behind her. She wore her usual hospital attire consisting of, a navy blue above the knee skirt, a white button up shirt -with Dr. Haruno stitched on the name label- and her black, leather ninja boots.

The busty-blonde looked up from behind her desk, at her apprentice; and gave a slight nod of her head, _'__Yes__'__, _as her face took on a more serious posture.

It was silent for a moment as the 16-year-old kunoichi stood at the door, gaze locked with the Hokage, her Shishou. Something wasn't right, she could feel it.

"Take a seat, Sakura. We have something important to discuss."

Her head turned to look at him as he spoke. _When did he get here? How does he always do that?_ She hadn't even noticed he was in the room, until just now, and he wasn't even masking his chakra. He was leaning against the wall, with his arms crossed over his chest. Her former-sensei looked the same as usual, but there was something he was hiding behind that, eye-crinkling smile. Also, there was no sign of _Icha Icha _coming out his pocket anytime soon. Something serious was going on, and she didn't like it. Not one bit.

Sakura compiled, brows furrowing as she took a glance at her Shishou. Her eyes were slightly bloodshot and heavily lidded. But the young jounin couldn't quite tell whether, it was from lack of sleep, or too much alcohol. One could never tell these days. Crossing one leg over the other at the knee and sitting back, she spoke up.

"Shishou, Kakashi-Sempai.. What's this about?" she asked slowly, but their was no answer from either of them. "I know something's going on, am not some naïve little genin anymore. So spill, what's this about?" She asked again, raising her voice a little-- but not disrespectfully.

"Akatsuki." was all Tsunade said, without looking up at her. Apparently the non-existent chip, in her perfectly red manicured nail, was more interesting.

_"__Riiight..__"_ She prodded.

"And possibly, Sasuke." Her silver-haired, team leader added.

Her mouth hung agape as her eyes widened. "Huh?"

"Akatsuki have been laying low for some time now. Jiraiya has just gotten wind that they have captured the fifth bijuu; meaning four jinchuuriki have been killed, since the Sanbi didn't have a host. More importantly, Akatsuki is making a move." Tsunade began.

"B-but that means, they only need t-three more before t-they.." She stuttered in response.

"Correct. They only need three more, before they come after Naruto, the Kyuubi." The blonde grimly finished for her.

"No way.." She gasped. Her brows furrowed again in confusion. "What's this got to do with Sasuke?"

"He is after his brother, as you know. Itachi is a member of Akatsuki. Meaning to get to Sasuke, we need to get to Itachi, the Akatsuki. Effectively killing two birds with one stone." She nodded slowly. "Sasuke isn't entirely what this mission is about, Sakura, but if we can get to him whilst were at it.." Kakashi explained.

A look of understanding passed between them, as he spoke; the Uchiha was the side mission.

"I understand." She interrupted, putting on a serious face of her own, emerald eyes glinting in determination, she spoke fiercly, "So this is to do with Naruto's safety, the villages safety. Ill do everything in my power to help, Shishou, Kakashi-Sempai."

The room went grimly silent again, and Sakura began to wonder if she had said the wrong thing; luckily for her, it didnt stay that way for long. Tsunade cleared her throat; but with that signal, the pink-haired kunoichi began to speak.

"If this has to do with Akatsuki and Sasuke, why did you only summon me? I understand, if you don't want to get Naruto involved, but Sai too?" She looked up quizzically at the silver haired man, "Aren't we a team?"

He could feel her gaze burning into him but kept his focus on nothing in particular out the window, his gaze troubled.

"I wanted to talk to you alone, Sakura. Kakashi is only here because he is your team leader." She looked pointedly at her then, "Sakura, I'm sure you've already guessed, but what we discuss today must _not, _under any circumstances, leave this room."

"Hai." She replied, eyeing her shishou suspiciously.

She looked from her Shishou to her team leader, and the look he gave her, was far from reassuring. It was the complete opposite, haunted and grave. He had never looked at her like that before, and now she wasn't sure if she wanted to hear what she was going to be told. If she knew anything about the older jounin, was the only thing he feared was losing his comrades, whether it be from death or defection. Sakura was beginning to get where this was going, and suddenly she wished she could take back her earlier words.

_'__Those who break the rules are scum.. But those who abandon their friends are worse than scum.__'_ Her former-sensei's -famous little- speech echoed in the back of her mind.

No she didn't, she would do anything for her comrades, she would never lower herself to be considered _scum_.

"I _need_ you to understand that you will be labelled a _traitor,_ as this mission _does not exist, Sakura. _It will be physically and psychologically, difficult. We need to find out what the leaders plans are, what he wants the bijuu for. We need the names and abilities of each of the members. We need to locate all the secret bases and hideouts, more importantly, their main base. They are a very secretive organisation, as they have been for many years; they will not give out this type of information to a personal maid, chef, or medic. We need to infiltrate to gain such knowledge." The Hokage took in a deep breath, and looked the pink-haired kunoichi -her student and pseudo-daughter- in the eyes, as she studied her with a mixture of concern and resolution. It had to be done, there was no other way. "I'm giving you an espionage mission-- You may decline, if you do not wish to do it. There is no other way to say this, so am just going to say it out right. I need you to join Akatsuki; not as a subordinate, but as a full-fledged member."

**She needs you to..**

The young jounin was taken aback, her lips parting in surprise. She should have knew this was coming. It explained the grave look Kakashi gave her earlier, the unusual seriousness in which Tsunade was addressing her, and the thick, chilly atmosphere. She couldn't help but _wish_ this was some kind of sick joke. Some way for paying her back for the Icha Icha book of Kakashi's she burnt, in training the other day, or for telling Shizune where Tsunade's stash of sake was hidden. Although the horrible sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, was telling her otherwise, as the words gradually sunk in.

"What?!" She exclaimed, as she flew out her seat, fear and dread finally washing over her. "That's like asking to be.. _Tortured.. Or killed_." She ended in a whisper. She couldn't breathe, never had she been so scared. And what was worse, she realized, she would definitely be doing this mission alone. Her friends would hate her, Naruto would be furious.

..._Join Akatsuki._

_**If you don**__**'**__**t then you**__**'**__**ll be..**_

"I mean I cant anyway. The leader only recruits freaks… Ne? They've got a walking sushi-bar with blue skin, a wooden puppet, an insane clan-killing Uchiha, ones got mouths on both hands, there's that weird green fly-trap one, not to mention.."

"Sakura!" Her frantic rambling just got cut short.

_...Worse than scum._

The jounin ranked kunoichi -Student of the Legendary Sannin, Tsunade, and the Infamous Copy Ninja, Hatake Kakashi- panicked. Never had she been given such a dangerous yet important mission, that the world depended on before. Ever. She calmed her nerves by inhaling deep and exhaling slowly, sitting back down. She felt dizzy, this was to much. This went on for a few minutes as the three stared at each other. She knew they both didn't want her to take this mission, as much as she didn't want to take it. Though she knew it was necessary, or they wouldn't have asked.

She closed her eyes, and said doubtfully, in an almost inaudible whisper, "I'll do it."

Now it was the copy ninja's turn to be frantic. He knew exactly what they were asking of her -but even he hadn't done such a dangerous mission like this- he never expected she'd take it. He was infront of the hokage's desk in less than a second, giving the most pleading eye, she had ever seen.

"Hokage-Sama, No. Theres always someone else. She cant.. I cant let her do this." He pleaded urgently.

Sakura's eyelids flew open. Big, wide emerald orbs stared at his back, in shock. She knew he didn't want her to do this, but she had no idea he disagreed this bad. She wasn't mad. She understood that this wasn't about her capability as a kunoichi. It was about his fear of loosing her, loosing a another team-mate, another friend. As much as she wanted to agree with him on this, she knew it had to be done.

With as much confidence as she could muster, she got up, and stood side by side with her team leader. Placing her hand over his, she gently rubbed it in a reassuring manner, as well as to show her appreciation.

He turned to his left, watching her. He saw the conflicting emotions swirling around her deep pools of green. He wished he could have done it in her place. He was already in the bingo book, so that wouldn't be such a problem. He had to admit to himself though, he would never be believed.

Kakashi looked down at their hands as her soothing motion stopped. It looked so small compared to his. Soft and unmarked. She was so young, and had so much left to live for. She needed to find her Mr Right, have babies, and grow old. Old but happy.

"Kakashi.." His former student brought him out of his reverie. Where did sempai go. She never called him, _just Kakashi_. When she passed the jounin exam and he insisted she dropped the sensei because they were equals, she simply changed it to sempai. Maybe she was trying to show him she's all grown up now and can hold her own. He knew she could hold her own -pretty damn well at that- but it wasn't the point, she was like his little girl, and he would always be there to protect her. With this mission thought, if anything went wrong, he couldn't. She was about to go into enemy territory, S-class criminal territory. She was going to try and join them-- join the biggest criminal organisation, in all the shinobi nations.

He looked up at her, and was met with that bright smile, and a glimmer in her eyes that he couldn't quite understand in a situation like this.

When she had his attention she continued, knowing he was all ears. _"_'_Those who break the rules are scum.. But those who abandon their friends are worse than scum.__'"_ She looked him in his exposed eye, and said with finality and determination, "Id rather be scum."

He looked at her a long moment. Her earlier words echoing in the back of his mind. _'__Am not some naïve little genin anymore.__'_ She was right, he realized. She didn't need protecting anymore. She was strong enough to watch her own back.

He sighed heavily and squeezed her hand, his eye creasing in that crescent moon shape, showing he was smiling behind that mask. "You always have a way of throwing my own speeches back at me.. don't ya." It wasn't a question, it was just his own way to show he understood perfectly, what she was trying to say.

The hokage looked at two of her most trusted subordinates, and hid her smile. It looked like the Infamous copy-nin was the one more bothered by this. "I guess I should explain the details."

Taking a deep, weary breath the blonde continued, as the male occupant of the room stared unseeing out the window at the back of the room, and sakura took her seat again, "Firstly, you will have to become a missing-nin, a real rogue-shinobi. We cannot lie and just say you abandoned Konoha, their leader would know; as he has many sources of information, to confirm if its true or not. No one will know it was a set-up, not even your comrades. Secondly we need a crime. Something to arrest you for, that's so bad you would flee to avoid punishment. You will be in every bingo book, should you make a name for yourself -which is highly recommended, to catch the Akatsuki's attention- If that is the case you will be hunted by hunter-nins, from every country; including Konoha. I will make it so our ANBU and hunter's bring you back alive, should you be caught, but id prefer you didn't. A warning though, the other countries will be under no such obligations. They will kill you on sight. If you want to survive an encounter, you will have to escape.. If necessary, kill them."

Sakura's eyes widened a fraction, she did her best to suppress the gasp of shock, that escaped her full lips. She continued to listen intently-- soaking in all the information she could.

"Once you pass the first stage and become an official missing-nin, preferably in the bingo book; you must catch the Akatsuki's attention. They should come to you. Convince them that you will be a valuable asset to their organisation. I believe you are the only shinobi capable of succeeding, for various reasons."

"How so?" She couldn't help but question.

"If we sent Kakashi, it would be obvious, he is known world wide as a loyal Konoha shinobi. If we send Naruto, they would extract his bijuu, resulting in instant death. You get where am going with it."

"Yeah, I suppose. But why _me_..? I don't even have experience in espionage, shishou. Why cant you just send an ANBU?"

"You may not be ANBU-Ranked, but you have _surpassed _me Sakura, there's hardly anything left for me to teach you."

She was not hearing right, she wouldn't believe it for a second. It was some kind of illusion Tsunade was trying to create, to make her feel better about herself, and more confident in her skills. "You don't have to lie shishou, even I'm not dumb enough to believe that. You way outclass me, I mean you're the hokage for goodness sake-- one of the legendary Sannin."

"Would I lie to you Sakura?" the blonde replied, with a pointed look on her face.

"Then how?" she replied, still with a look of disbelief.

"Because you have taken Naruto's strange power. People are drawn to you, trust you and grown to like you. You may not have a weird Kekkei-Genkai like the other members of Akatsuki, but you make up for it in other area's. Your perfect chakra control, inhuman strength, medical Ninjutsu as well as powerful jutsu, such as Rasengan and Chidori, in your arsenal. On top of all that, you are a Genjutsu specialist. Those will be looked on as valuable assets, to their leader. You are the _only_ one who can do this Sakura."

Kakashi who had been gazing out the window, looked at the pink-haired kunoichi, "You never give yourself enough credit, neither did a lot of people in the past, but its true. Sakura, students always surpass there teachers in time. You're generation will be far stronger than mine, or Tsunade-sama's. It will be a matter of time before your generation take over, and rule Konoha."

"Arigatou gozaimasu." she bowed her head a little in respect.

A humble blush tinted her cheeks at her Shishou's admission. A faint nod from Kakashi showed he too thought highly of her skills as a kunoichi, that he meant what he said. Sakura couldn't help but brim with pride. It was all she ever wanted, to be accepted, and be seen as more than just a burden. It was seriously hard to get by, being on the _'__all-star team__'_ as Ino would put it. Anyone would struggle to be noticed on a team with; the Kyuubi jinchuuriki, a genius and one of the last Uchiha's, as well as having the copy-nin as the team leader. She was left out of the loop, which was one of the main reasons -along with, to help get Sasuke back- why she asked to become the hokage's apprentice, in the first place.

"When they offer the membership you must take it. Be careful and try not to look to pleased, or act hasty about it. They may sense there's something off. Do not forget you will be dealing with the worlds most dangerous shinobi, and _alone._"_  
_  
"You may be working as a spy, but for all intents and purposes, you will be an official Akatsuki member. You will continue to take orders from me, as well as their leader. There will be things you will have to do, that you may not particularly like, or agree with; but you will have to comply to maintain your cover. It may disgust you, or make you upset, or angry. They may test you, and push you to your limits; this is were it will become physically, and psychologically, difficult. I know you are a compassionate person, but you _must _not become attached Sakura; or you will make it harder for yourself. Always remember to stay on your own little mission; make targets for yourself. Make them acknowledge your strength and knowledge; but don't stray of track, and get power hungry, like so many before you."

She snorted at that. Like that would ever happen. She wasn't another Sasuke-- even if he had a plausible reason.

"This will require every single skill, every single lesson, you have learnt as a Konoha shinobi. Failure is not an option. This is the real deal now Sakura. You could very well die. If you wish to reconsider, now would be the time to do so."

Sakura thought carefully for a moment. They were right, she was the only one who could pull this off. It would be risky, but thousands of shinobi would kill for a mission like this. The constant shifts at the hospital were getting boring as well. She needed a change, and this was the perfect opportunity. Also, Kakashi had said we could get a lead on Sasuke. His time was almost up. Orochimaru should need to change vessel soon. Unless Sasuke thought of something, and fast, he was finished. As a friend, a comrade and family, she could not let that happen; there was a chance that she was the only one who could save him.

"I never go back on my word, cos that too, is my nindo.. _Our _ninja way."

She saw a slight smile tugging at the corner of Kakashi's lips, under his mask. She could feel the pride radiating off of him. Tsunade pulled a bottle of sake out of her draw, taking a sip before saying, "Very well."

Sakura looked at her nervously for a second, then asked, "When do I leave, Shishou?"

"Not for a week, we have a lot to prepare."

"Huh?.. What else is there to sort out, apart from thinking up a crime, and getting me out of here?" she asked, with a delicate-pink raised brow.

"Why? You in a hurry to leave?" Kakashi accused jokingly.

"No." The pink-haired woman straightened out, grinning.

"You are going to be working with Shikamaru. You will need to work together, and figure out a few strategy's, and a means of communication." The blonde placed the bottle of sake on the oak desk, and looked the green-eyed kunoichi in the eye. "I will also be teaching you, Sozo Saisei."

Sakura stared dumfounded for a moment, until the said jutsu registered in her mind. "B-but that's _your_ jutsu. I mean.. you haven't even taught Shizune it yet, why me?" she asked shocked, though the excitement was kicking in.

"You may need it Sakura. Like I said, this isn't even a ranked mission. You will _constantly_ be in danger, its just a safety precaution, there if you need it."

"But.."

"No but's, Sakura. Let me teach it to you; if not for yourself, do it for me and Hatake, it will help us sleep a little easier at night."

"Arigatou gozaimasu, Shishou, I appreciate it." she thanked as she stood, bowing deeply.  
_  
_The hokage waved a hand dismissively. "Its fine, you have the rest of the day off, I'd give you the week but that might raise suspicion. Get here by eleven pm sharp. Shikamaru will be waiting in the adjoining room. Dismissed."  


* * *

_A/N: So theres the next instalment. I know a few of you have been waiting patiently for this, and i know its been a long wait, but ive just finally gotten it written. I didnt know which direction to take it in at first, but i think this is the best one._

I didnt realize it, until just now, but this appears to be everyones favourite story of mine. It's not got the most reviews, but i was happy enough with the favourite's and alerts, to upload this.

I Hope you enjoyed, please review. :)

**_Ru_**_**dii**eee-**Miko**mii**.x**_


	3. Chapter Two, Ramen, Lilies & Jutsu

* * *

  
Chapter Two: Seven Day Countdown- Ramen, Lilies & Jutsu.  


* * *

The pink-haired medic left the hokage tower in a flurry of cherry blossoms, that disappeared once they fluttered to the ground; reappearing at her apartment in her bedroom.

Though her place was small with only a bedroom; kitchen, bathroom and living area; it was beautifully decorated, compliments of Sai. The theme pattern throughout the house was a base of cream walls, adorned with -chocolate brown- painted branches and rosette blossom petals, as the design. Sakura flopped on her bed and lay down. Taking a look around her room she smiled at the memory.

_- - -_

_An exhausted Sakura made her way back to her new apartment after a long and tiring shift at the hospital. Sixteen hour long infact. She was pretty peeved with her shishou for doing this. The blonde knew she had to decorate and arrange her things around. One day was all she asked for -just one damn day off- but the blonde seemed insistent to keep her there, in the sterile hospital, cleaning sick and healing wounds. I mean it wasn__'__t much to ask for, surly._

_So now plodding along the dark empty streets, all she could think about was jumping in bed after a nice long shower to soothe her aching bones. The kunoichi arrived at the block of apartments she lived in. It was the same one as Kakashi__'__s actually. She quickly descended the stone steps to the third floor and fumbled about for her key. Turning it in the lock she walked in as she kicked her boots off lazily._

_The young medic then flicked the light switch on before turning around to make her way towards her room, when a loud, obnoxious, but unmistakable voice boomed through her entire apartment, __"__Surprise, Sakura-chan!!__"__ Ohh gosh.. She was definitely gonna get kicked out before she managed to move in properly, was her first thought._

_If this happened to anyone else, they would more than likely be terrified. Unfortunately for the pink haired kunoichi, it wasn__'__t._

_As she turned around fully she saw the blonde knuckle-head, stood in the middle of her living room with a very proud smile adorning his features. He was covered head to toe in paint. She looked over at the couch to see the copy ninja, sat, nose deep in Icha Icha vengeance, Jiraiya__'__s latest development in literature. Sai was sat on the other end of the sofa, with a real smile._

_"__Urrr.. Does anyone care to explain?__"__ She finally asked eyeing them all suspiciously, in mock anger. Truth was she loved her team and cherished every second she could spent with them._

_Naruto practically leaped across the room, slung his arm round her shoulder and said, sounding very pleased with his accomplishment, __"__Of course Sakura-chan. Look what we__'__ve done. Now you don__'__t have to bother.__"__  
_

_Taking a proper glance around the room, the mock anger simmered away and was replaced by awe. There was no boxes piled up all around the room, like how she left it.. Her books and scrolls were neatly placed on the shelves in the corner, near her bedroom door. New chocolate coloured tatami mats were lining the floor. And the walls.. Were simply breathe taking._

_She felt over-whelmed. "You.. You did this for me?"_

_The blonde's grin turned sheepish as he scratched his head, where his hiate-ate knotted at the back. "Well I tried.. But we all know Sai's the artist of our team, ne?" He laughed and she joined in._

_"Arigatou Team Kakashi.. Its amazing."_

_Naruto steered Sakura towards her bedroom, and opened the door before pushing her in. "Naruto?" She protested but it was no use. Once they entered, she noticed the other team members where making there way in as well. _

_Yamato -Kakashi's replacement- was stood on the other side of her bed._

_"One more surprise, only this one was all Sai." Naruto waved his hand in the direction of the bed, which had something flat and large, hidden under some emerald silk._

_Without another thought Yamato removed the silk to reveal a painting. She stepped closer to get a better look. It wasn't just any painting, but one beautifully bordered with a carved wooden frame. The actual picture itself was mesmerising. It looked so real. Her eyes brimmed with happy tears as she continued to examine it. It was a painting of herself, Naruto, Kakashi, Sai, Yamato.. and Sasuke._

_"You even added.. S-Sasuke." she sniffled._

_"He's still a member of out team, right?" Sai said from somewhere behind her._

_- - -_

A loud knock at the door broke her train of thought. With a heart-felt sigh, Sakura stood and made her way through her apartment, towards the source of her interruption, smiling to herself at the memory.

Sure enough, Naruto stood at the door with his usual grin in place.

"Sakura-chan." He greeted happily.

"Naruto.. What brings you here?"

"I was just going to get some ramen, when i felt your chakra; so i thought i'd ask you to join me."

"Oh sure. Just a minute."

She quickly made her way back to her room and pulled on her boots, before returning to the door and closing it silently behind her.

_-x-_

The walk to the ramen stand didn't take long. She knew Naruto was babbling on as usual but whatever he was saying she couldn't quite hear. She was to busy thinking that she only had a week left in this place. A week left of ramen with Naruto, a week left a sparing with her team -mostly Kakashi- and a week left of working in the konoha hospital, fixing up the injured shinobi-- saving lives.

Emerald eyes came back into focus, as a masculine hand waved in front of her vision.

"Sakura-chan, you okay?" her concerned best friend asked.

"Uh.. Yeah, I just zoned out, gomen." She apologized.

"Its fine, were here now anyway." he brushed if off as he pointed to the stand.

The two walked through the drapes, taking a seat and ordered the usual, Miso ramen with pork, a cup of coffee for Sakura, and green tea for Naruto. They began eating in a comfortable silence, after thanking Ayame, the waitress. All that could be heard was the slurping of noodles and broth.

"Sooo.." The blonde started, noodles dangling out his mouth, "How come your dressed for work when you was at home?"

Green eyes travelled down to the white lab shirt, she was still wearing. "Oh, I was at work this morning.. but Shishou came by, and told me to have the day off." She half lied.

"I see." He grinned, "Its about time, that Obaa-chan is always working your ass off."

The medic chuckled slightly, he always knew how to make her laugh. But today, it upset her. Who was gonna be there to raise her spirits whilst she was gone? Whose shoulder was she gonna cry on? Mostly she worried about what she would do without him. He was her rock. The crutch that kept her on her own two feet when she was unable to herself. He was that bright ray of sunshine that peeped through the clouds and brightened up her day. He was her hope and determination, the only one who believed in her, when she couldn't believe in herself. She would miss his reassuring smiles, cuddles, and kisses on the cheek. She was truly going to miss her friend.

A sad smile graced her lips, that didn't go unnoticed by her companion. He furrowed his blonde brows as he looked her over. He knew something was wrong, and he wasn't going to stop asking until he got an answer.

"Sakura-chan," He asked voice full of concern, "What's the matter? Why are you crying?"

She looked at him then, waving her hand dismissively, "Am fine, nothings the matter, and am not _crying_." She finished defensively.

"Yes, there is." He whispered, as he wiped the stray tear from her cheek to prove his point. But he didn't move his hand, his thumb softly stroked the skin below her eye. "Whatever it is, you know you can tell me, ne? Am always here for you and I always will be."

She was silent for a moment. He didn't realise how much she wanted to tell him. How much she needed him; but this time he couldn't be there for her. Like Tsunade said, she was going to be alone. So she might-as-well get used to it.

Thinking up a lie, she said, "Its her anniversary the day after tomorrow." Well it wasn't that much of a lie either.

"Okaa-san's?" He asked slowly. And she replied with a nod of her head. "I cant believe I forgot, good job I have you here to remind me."

They were quiet for a moment. Each happy with the others presence. When suddenly Naruto spoke, "Wait here okay? Finish your ramen, I wont be long."

His lips grazed her cheek.

"Naruto?" She questioned, but he was gone. She smiled as she lightly touched where his lips has just been, with an almost un-see-able blush.

* * *

The blonde-haired member of team seven was taking his time on his way to the Yamanaka flower shop. He wanted so very much to cheer Sakura up, and he had a brilliant idea in mind. There was one problem though, he had a terrible memory; which was why he was currently walking slowly down the street, brows furrowed with a look of utter concentration adorning his handsome features.

"Ohh, What are they? _What are they?_" He kept whispering to himself in annoyance. He stopped with his fists clenching and unclenching, with a stomp of his foot -in a very spoiled, child like manner- he shouted, "What are those _damn_ white flowers called?!"

The nearby villagers stopped and stared at the tall chunnin like he was mad. Like he gave two shits though, he had more important things to stress about like, "Kaa-Sans favourite."

He started to stomp off again, when a familiar silver-haired jounin fell into step beside him. They made the rest of the way in silence, well almost. Naruto kept cursing here and there whilst Kakashi chuckled at his book.

A couple minutes later the two found themselves outside a very colourful florist. Ino had put a large collection of the plants, beautifully arranged, into pots outside the door-- There were red and white camellias and roses, agapanthus, ambrosia and various colours of carnations, violets and cosmos. Naruto stared at the display dumbfounded, now he was fucked. He quickly scanned them all hoping that if he spotted the ones he was looking for, he might recognise them.

Though it would seem Kami was on his side today. "Lilies."

"Huh." The blonde spun round, to spot his team leader watching him amused. Naruto did wonder for a second -with a single raised brow- how in the world Kakashi knew what Sakura's mothers favourite flowers were, but thought better of it. What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. The fact that he needed to get the flowers and back to Sakura was more appealing. "Arigatou, Kaka-sensei."

He watched as his teacher raised his hand in a salute and disappeared in a cloud of smoke, before turning back and buying a huge white lily, with a small orange and a pink day. When he was done he made his way back to the ramen stand to find his pink-haired comrade, grinning from ear to ear.

* * *

The two arrived at the grave yard in the east side of Konoha and made their way towards their Okaa-sans stone. It was situated under a cherry blossom tree, a bunch of fallen pale pink petals lay on the ivory stone. As they spotted it their pace slowed. It had been a while since they had been for a visit, which kind off made them feel bad but they were here now and that's all that mattered-- that's what Okaa-san would say.

They both kneeled down silently and placed the white lily down together, on the granite stand that the carved stone was placed on.

"Am here Okaa-san." Sakura whispered, as she placed her pink lily down beside the other.

"Me too, care-bear." Naruto said equally quiet, as he put his orange one down with the others. He smiled as he found himself caught in his memories. He remembered how she frantically healed every cut and bruise, on them, and Sasuke, after those ruff training days. How she always made sure they ate their five-a-day. Constantly telling him and Sasuke that they shouldn't fight all the time. She was always there, and always cared, always there to listen, and give advice. She was the perfect mother in his eyes, all he ever wished for. She was gentle and tender, like if she touched him he would break. She treated and cared for him and Sasuke like they were her own children-- the same way she treated Sakura. She acted the proud parent part when he would come home with a new jutsu. She was the glue that kept their little family together, and now it was up to him and Sakura.

"Gomen, Ive not been here for ages," .._and am not going to be. _The breeze softly fingered through her pink hair, just like her mother used to. It felt as though she was letting her know she was there and listening-- Saying hello."Its really been a long time and ive missed you," .._am going to be gone for a while and ill miss you._

"Its been hard without you here," _..and its gonna be hard without them near. _Sakura felt the prickling burn at the back of her eyes, no matter how hard she tried to fight the tears, they still escaped."Sometimes, Shishou can be such a slave driver, but its all worth while; the hospital work and the missions," .._especially this one, am doing it for my most important people._

_"_I did know where I was going and what I was doing in life, thanks to you, but now am not so sure. Am I on the right track, or am I going to make a total mess of my life?" _..will they hate me Okaa-san, will they be able to forgive me?_ The thought of loosing her friends love and trust was a little to much. "I just don't know what to do, but ill leave you to guide me. Until we meet again, _Okaa-Bear._" She ended with a smile.

The two sat in a companionable silence for a moment, Naruto's arm flung over her shoulders for support, before the blonde finally spoke up. "I see you remembered Sasuke's name for her." He giggled.

"Hai. You know she used to tell me how much she loved you two, like her own and just thinking of the nicknames used to bring a smile to her face." Sakura replied, spirits finally lifted.

"Care-bear and Okaa-bear, huh." Naruto said with a grin.

"Hmm-hmm." The pink-haired jounin hummed back.

* * *

It was late into the evening -ten to eleven to be more precise- as a blossom haired jounin made her way to the hokage tower for her meeting with a certain lazy shinobi. She began to make her way up the stairs, a little anxious. She was close with him and had done things like planning and strategies before but this meeting was for her, and a very critical mission that could very well be the end of her. She couldn't help but worry as she bit her lip.

She felt a little bad as well, she had to lie to Naruto for the ump-teenth time that day, yes, they were only little white lies but it still bothered her, she hated having to lie to him. But because of this meeting, she had to lie and say she was tired and going home to sleep, instead of saying she was coming here since he would have wanted to come along otherwise.

She finally arrived at the door to the hokage's office, unlocking it with her key. She knew Tsunade would have gone to her quarters by now, so there was no point wasting time and risking being seen by those nosy chunnin usually roaming about at this time, by knocking. She shut the door quietly behind her as she had done earlier in the day, then locked it from the inside.

She turned to face the a joining door, that led to the conference room, to find that it was already open. Making her way over, she peered her head inside.

In the centre of the room was a large oak table with chairs placed around its perimeter. A few scrolls were lying about across the surface, as though they had just been thrown on. There was a huge rectangular, dusty chalk board hung on the wall behind the head seat of the table-- used for strategy planning, explanations and teaching. The room had no windows, though that was to be expected considering what the room was used for.

A muffled, "Is that you, Sakura?" caught her attention, from the store cupboard the hokage used for unused scrolls, medical books, law books, and to hide her sake, amongst other things that had their uses.

"Hai Shika." She replied making her way over to him, "You're early." the medic stated as she peered in to find a tuff of brunette pineapple-shaped hair stuck out a cupboard.

"Mm. I wasn't doing anything, so I thought I should get started." His voice sounded smoother now it wasn't so muffled, from the distance. "Aah, here it is." He carried on more to himself than her though.

The dark-haired jounin closed the cupboard door; black scroll lined with pink in hand. He walked back in to the meeting room, Sakura following suit; as she tried to examine the scroll he had been looking for, over his shoulder. It was pretty, she had to admit to herself, but couldn't help ask what it was for.

"What's in that scroll, Shika-kun?" She raised a brow expectantly.

Said boy turned to face her then, as they took a seat next to each other. "Nothing." he replied with a smirk.

"Eh?" she grunted, _oh great am starting to sound like Naruto._

"Well.. Tsunade-sama told you that we needed a communication jutsu to keep in touch right.." He explained, his tone going from bored, to slightly excited, "She then decided to spring it on me last minute, that we have to make one of our own; that way you wont get found out, if your get caught using it."

"Soo.. Were making our own jutsu, as a ways of communicating?" She questioned.

"Yupp." Was all he said, as he unravelled the elegant scroll and spread it out across the table, shoving the others out the way in the process.

"Naruhodo.. Ive created my own jutsu for medical and attack purposes, but never for communication." Sakura mused to herself a little nervously.

"Same you know." the genius replied lazily, "But don't worry, I think I have an idea."

"Hmm, what do you have in mind?" Sakura was a little sceptic, Tsunade sprung it on him last minute, and he already had an idea. Well, that was Shikamaru for you. The brains indeed, as choji so kindly puts it.

"You'll see. Have you got chakra to spare for tonight?" He asked, knowing that she had been at the hospital that morning, and probably sparing with her team as well.

"Yeah, I didn't go all out in training today, just in case." She replied waving her hand dismissively.

"Good, Good. You can use wind element, cant you?" He asked just to make sure.

"Its not my strong suit, Ive got no wind jutsu, but I understand the principle behind it. Why?"

"Well this will be your first. My second natures wind; and am sure Kakashi-san can copy it from one of us. I don't know about Tsunade though, but not to worry, this is just to relay messages to and thro quickly."

"Alright." She waited for him to explain.

"I read up a little on the principles behind communication via jutsu; basically, you have an idea of what your going to say right?"

She nodded in understanding.

"You then think of how you are going to say it; for example, say you was at the hospital, and you had bad news to deliver to the patient, you would think about how you were going to say it, and make sure you worded it carefully.

"The sender then says what they are going to say-- but in this instance you would say it in your head, and this is how the message will be sent. The message will then be decoded by the reader, and then replied to."

"Aa, the communication cycle." the pink-haired medic acknowledged, she knew she had read about this somewhere-- it was when she was studying health and social care with her shishou, learning how to deal with patients. She never had to use it before at work, with most of it being plain common sense; but she had to admit, she was pretty grateful she learnt it, as it would come in handy with this jutsu.

"Indeed."

"So where should we start?"

"With the hand seals, I prepared them earlier. They should work, Asuma-sensei once told me these were good with wind jutsu, so lets give it a try. Nezumi, O-ushi, Tora, Saru, Nezumi. You got 'em?"

"Hai."

"Okay.. In-case we, or you, cant take the message at the time, it will write itself onto the scroll; and no one will be able to read it unless you, me or Kakashi-san, are there to push some chakra into it. Will you be able to get Kakashi to add his to your scroll, and visa versa?" He explained, as he wrote incantations, in ink, across her scroll.

Sakura nodded. "I'll probably see him tomorrow."

"Sweet. Now, slice this kunai across your palm, then go through the seals I showed you; when your done place your palm in the middle of the scroll." the dark-haired shinobi instructed, as he passed her a silver kunai knife.

The pink haired kunoichi quickly sliced her palm, with a wince; and went through the seals whispering, "Nezumi, O-ushi, Tora, Saru, Nezumi." She utilized her wind chakra, glowing blue around her hand as she placed her palm flat against the scroll, just as she was told. She watched as Shikamaru's writing faded a little, but was still visible.

When she was done, Shikamaru made the same hand-signs and placed his bloody palm on the scroll, the writing faded more, now unreadable. "Once Kakashi-san does this, the writing will fade completely."

_-x-_

The two sat in comfortable silence as they prepared a scroll for Shikamaru and Kakashi. The dark-haired jounin's scroll was black, lined with green, and Kakashi's black, lined with blue. Sakura had asked why these scrolls and colours; Shikamaru replied telling her that these scrolls were designed for wind jutsu, and the colours he picked were a reference to character he supposed-- he shrugged it off.

"Ne Shika-kun, why do you think Shishou picked me for this mission?" Sakura asked off-handily, to make conversation.

"I told her not to mention it, but since you asked-- I suggested you for the job." he answered honestly.

"So why me, out of all the people you could have suggested to her?" she asked genuinely interested in his reasoning; as she twisted a fallen pink lock, from her messy bun, around her index finger.

"Akatsuki seems to collect shinobi with unique or special abilities. Those who stand out, who's reputation and name alone strike fear into the hearts of their enemy's." he started to explain. "You've already made a name for yourself as the Hokage's apprentice, and as a rising force of your own. The fact that you're medical abilities are on par with the best medic's, in all five of the great shinobi nations, adds to your appeal."

"But Tsunade-sama said she doesn't want me to be their personal medic, medics aren't known for their fighting skills."

"You killed one of them, Sakura-chan, so they know your strong enough to stand amongst their ranks. When they find out you've gone rogue, they'll probably watch your movements. I don't believe it would be very difficult at all for you to get inside."

"Did you forget about my connection to Naruto when you mentioned this to shishou? How could I get them to believe that I would join them, when they want to _kill_ my best friend?"

"They would know you are team-mates, but they have no way of knowing how close the two of you are personally. Besides Sasuke was your team mate and he just up and left, even after battling Naruto."

Sakura's expression darkened and her jaw clenched involuntary; at the memory of Naruto on the hospital bed, emotionally and physically hurt.

"Your direct contact with the Akatsuki is even more limited than Naruto's, the only things they'll know about you are your abilities and who your mentors were. Trust me, there's nothing to worry about." he explained further.

Point taken.

"Yeah your right, I guess.. I worry to much." She smiled with appreciation. If Naruto and Kakashi weren't around she could always count on Shikamaru for friendly support.

After that day in her first chunnin exams -where she had to cut her hair fighting tooth and nail to keep her injured team safe- he too started to believe in her abilities as a kunoichi. She may not have passed the exam the first time round, but she did gain a lot of respect from the lazy genius. They shortly after became friends, hung out, and spared on days when they weren't too busy. After Asuma's death, the petite woman became his shogi partner, surprising him with her intelligence and strategising abilities, on the odd occasion she would even win a few times. Later Shikamaru insisted that she helped with the planning of the tactical team in the jounin headquarters, they both now worked for.

The pink-haired kunoichi's wound started to grow green from the inside, as she internally closed the cut. Reaching out to her brunette comrade, she said, "Let me fix this." As her palm glowed with medical chakra, she closed up his wound.

Clenching and unclenching his hand, the brunette examined his now healed hand. There wasn't even a scar left behind; just as he'd expect from the hokage's apprentice, she was truly amazing. "Thanks." he uttered. Then going back to work, he asked, "So do you want to see if this jutsu works? We might as well get it over with tonight."

"Um.. Yeah, I agree." she replied, reaching out for her scroll, rolling it in her hands. "So how exactly does this work?"

"I'm thinking we utilize our wind natured chakra, until we have a light breeze blowing around us, and send the message using our thoughts. Do you wanna give it a go?" he asked.

With a nod, the pink-haired kunoichi closed her eyes and concentrated on focusing her energies and thoughts, into the light breeze that had picked up around her.

It took a couple of minutes, before a warm breeze enveloped the dark-haired shinobi. At first he wasn't sure what to do, but after going through the hand signs they had earlier, he heard a faint, feminine whisper in his mind. With a slight smirk, he said, "Its easier said then done, huh?"

Chuckling slightly, Sakura nodded, "It is, why don't you give it ago, and see for yourself."

It took a few minutes longer for him to get the message to Sakura, than it had took her; but she deduced it probably had something to do with her inner. When Shikamaru was done, she said, "It seems i were right."

"Okay, so we know that's working, but its time to take it to another level. I'm going to go in the hokage's office, and from in here, I want you to see if you can get a message to my scroll."

Ten minutes had passed by and there was still no luck, no matter what she tried, it just wouldn't work. She felt frustrated because it was working transferring them from mind to mind; so what was so different about transferring a message from mind to scroll. "Ne Shika-kun, am gonna try and send it to you, but don't do the seals, I wanna see if it will automatically go to your scroll."

"Good luck." was all that drawled out of the other room.

Her chakra was running low, and still with no luck, yet another ten minutes had passed. She found it hard, to utilize wind chakra; because it was still a new concept to her, it drained her energies, like there was no tomorrow. But she kept at it, she was determined to get this over and done with tonight, and she wasn't gonna stop until she was done.

Focusing her thoughts to be carried along the wind to the reciprocate, the pink-haired woman pictured the lazy genius in her head; she found the messages transferred quicker that way. Another few minutes passed and she was sure it worked this time. She could hear her companion in the other room, going through seals, for what she presumed was to read the scroll.

Her face dropped when there was no reply from him, how much longer was it going to take. She was tired and wanted to go to bed. Just as she was about to sink into the chair at the table; a pair of masculine arms wrapped around her, lifting her into the air. She peered down to see Shikamaru spinning her round and round, a silly grin plastered across his face.

She didn't quite get what had gotten into him, until he said, "You did it!" sounding all excited, which was very uncharacteristic of him.

"I did?" she asked sceptically, as he put her back on her feet.

"Hai, hai." Pulling his scroll out of his back pocket, he opened it, revealing her message.

"How much longer is this going to take?" she read, before he put it back in his jacket pocket.

"I think we can stop here, since we get the hang of it now. However, from now on when we want to contact eachother, we'll use this method; and by the end of the week, we'll be pro's."

"Alright, we'll do that then." the pink-haired kunoichi replied with a nod of agreement.

The dark-haired shinobi started to tidy away all the unused scrolls. He then tucked the chairs in the right places, and turned off the lights.

The dark-haired Nara passed Sakura hers and Kakashi's scroll's. "Make sure you sort them out for me."

"Will do." she replied as she stepped out the office, Shikamaru in tow.

It was late now, nobody was about, so they didn't have to worry about being seen or overheard, as they talked on the way out of the tower.

"Be careful, Sakura-chan." He said, with his protective-brotherly mode coming out. "You better come back without a scratch."

"Hn, like they could get a scratch on me." she teased.

"I'm being serious Sakura. If anything happens to you, it will be all my fault; so please, promise me that you'll be careful."

"You have my word." she promised, giving him a hug.

"I'm going to make it so either me, or Kakashi-san are out on missions near your location, from time to time, in-case the need arises to get you out of there."

"There's really no need, Shika, ill be fine. Really." She tried to reassure him, before pulling out of their embrace; but he didn't let go.

Holding her a little tighter, he said with finality in his tone, "Always remember to stop while your ahead; If you know, or even think your going to be found out, get out of there. Don't wait to see what happens next. Nobody will care if you fail this mission-- as long as you get out alive."

* * *

_Terminology:  
__Naruhodo- I see_

_Hand seals:  
__Nezumi- Rat  
O-ushi- Ox__  
Tora- Tiger  
Saru- Monkey_

_So about the flowers, ill put the meanings down in-case you don't already known them-_

1) The day lily is aptly named due to the fact that they open at sunrise and wither away at sunset. Some species of the day lily are edible and some authorities claim that they have medicinal properties.  


_Sakura's mum lived a short life, & was a medical-nin._

_  
2) The day lily is the Chinese emblem for mother._

_Sakura's mum was like a mother to Naruto and Sasuke.  
_  
_I apologise for any grammatical mistakes I made in this chapter, I tried to fix as many as possible. You see, ive just been given three assignments to do in a week. Yes three, long and difficult assignments. :( So ive been a very busy girl, and decided to write this in between doing my coursework, so it wont be the best, but atleast I tried._

_All my stories are going to be on a semi-hiatus from now until Christmas. I should still be updating every now and then, but I cant promise it will be often. Its all colleges fault, I really hate not having time to relax and write, its been pecking my head all week. But ill hopefully have it all done by Christmas. :)  
_

_Apart from that, its all good. hope you enjoyed, review if you have time._

_**Rudii**eee-**Miko**mii**.x**_


	4. Chapter Three, Sozo Saisei

Chapter Three: Seven Day Countdown- Sozo Saisei.

* * *

Not quite sure what she was supposed to be doing, Sakura got ready and swiftly made her way to the hospital that morning for work, as she usually would.

When she arrived, an old woman with shoulder length grey hair, happily greeted her from behind the reception desk. "Good morning, Haruno-san!"

She was a little too cheerful, and loud for this early hour of the morning for Sakura's liking; but she took it in her stride, and polietly smiled back. "Morning, Midori-san." she replied as she made a b-line to the next door, looking non-too-eager.

"Oh.. Haruno-san." Midori called after her.

Suppressing a sigh, she turned to face her. "Hai?"

"Hokage-sama came by not too long ago, she told me to inform you that you will be working on the seventh floor today." she further explained, like Sakura didn't know what wards they were, "Intensive care and Rehabilitation."

"The I&R Care unit.." the pink-haired kunoichi muttered back in response, though more to herself. Looking over to the fragile looking receptionist, Sakura inquired, "Are you sure, Midori-san?"

"Quite so. Hokage-sama said she had something to go over with you; apparently it requires privacy."

"Oh.." That sparked her interest, and she wondered what her shishou had in store for her today. Trying to keep her voice even, she continued, "Alright then. If you see her, will you tell her that I'm here?"

"Of course, Haruno-san." the receptionist beamed as she started fumbling with something at her waist. "I'll page her right away."

"Arigatou, Midori-san."

And with a slight wave, Sakura started in the opposite direction towards the I&R unit, utterly confused. It was odd to the pink-haired medic, as her shishou usually preferred her working in the Accident and Emergency department; being a field medic it was considered more her forte of work.

The change in unit wasn't really what bothered her though; she couldn't wrap her head around the fact that Tsunade had stopped by the hospital that morning for something that required privacy. Wouldn't the Hokage office be more appropriate for a private.. Chat? It was sound proof for one, and the hospital rooms weren't, not even the consultation rooms in the I&R unit had that level of privacy.

Deciding to put her thoughts on hold for now, the pinkette flew up the last set of stairs with ease. Figuring that she should start in the rehabilitation centre, which had fewer staff than the intensive care unit, she took herself down the left wing headed for the rehab's reception desk, to see how she could help.

As she rounded the last corner, an unmistakable figure, clad in a green all-in-one suit, was talking to the receptionist at the main desk. The closer she got, the conversation travelled more clearly to her keen ears.

"..But ive been waiting hours." Lee stated, sounding agitated.

"I know Rock-san, but there's nothing I can do. Tsunade-sama isn't here yet." the receptionist was obviously trying to placate him.

At first Sakura thought that someone he knew was injured and needed special care; but then she realised that she was at the rehabilitation centre, and something in her mind clicked. Lee must still, even after his operation, be needing rehab treatment from the fight he had with Gaara in the preliminary matches' of the chuunin exams.

As she approached, the pink-haired kunoichi asked, "Is everything okay, Lee-san?"

Sakura caught the relief that flittered across the receptionists brown eyes as she realised who had spoken. And before Lee had time to reply, the receptionist practically jumped out of her seat, "Ahh, Haruno-san.. Thank goodness you're here. Poor Rock-san has been waiting since four to be seen, but none of the staff on duty are qualified enough to treat him.. Do you think you can lend us a hand, or two."

She smiled a bright smile, hoping to further convince the pink-haired kunoichi, but Sakura was Lee's friend, she wasn't going to leave him there suffering, not when she could help. So with a quick nod of her head towards the receptionist, she grasped Lee's arm and pulled him in the direction of the treatment rooms with a friendly smile.

_-x-_

When they arrived Sakura flicked on the lights, and gently asked Lee to lie back on the bed to the side that was covered in a long strip of blue paper towel. She then pulled up a wooden chair to his bedside and sat with one leg crossed over the other at the knee, resting her arms atop.

"Oh Sakura-san, its wonderful to see you glowing with such radiant youth."

Glowing, the pink-haired medic had no idea it was possible for someone to be glowing so early in the morning. She had hardly any sleep the previous night, what with her mind going over her new mission again and again, she had more of an impression she was dimming with darkness when her mood set in after listening to her alarm ring over and over; loud and annoying. Then again it might have just been Lee giving himself the illusion she was '_glowing,__'_ considering the fact that he still hadn't gotten over her, gotten over his _youthful crush_, as Gai had so youthfully put it.

"Um, arigatou, Lee." she polietly thanked him, before going back to the business at hand, " So could you fill me in on the details, you know, why you still need rehabilitation; I don't know where Shishou left your file. I had no idea, I always thought the operation went well."

Putting one hand behind his head as he relaxed under the care of an excellent medic, his friend, he explained, "The operation went fantastic, Sakura-san, Tsunade-sama did a fantastic job; I mean I'm still alive, which is proof enough. I started up training too soon, without giving my body enough time to heal."

He sighed then, an expression of pain, but amazement flittering across his face. "You see Neji passed the exam six months later, and still being a genin because I couldn't participate frustrated me. Neji wouldn't have been my rival for much longer, he would have gone on to rival with someone stronger, less fragile than myself, and I couldn't accept that."

_Poor thing.._ Sakura wanted to interrupt, to tell him that he wasn't fragile, and that he was someone worth rivalling, but as he continued his story, she found it was only prudent she listen, that's what friends were for after all.

"Tenten realised that I wasn't being myself, she asked me if there was anything wrong, if there was anything she could do. I told her the above, but that she couldn't do anything about it. She smiled and walked away; later I found that she had spoken to Neji, and he was a little worried when he confronted me about the situation. He told me that he didn't think any less of me because of my injuries, that he actually marvelled my ability to pursue my dreams. He told me that if there was any way to help, I just needed to ask, and he would be there.

"About a week passed as I mulled the proposal over and over, and in the end I decided to let him train me, to help build up my strength back to what it used to be; of course we succeeded, and I was stronger than ever before. But with more power comes greed, Sakura-san, whether its about strength: jutsu, love, money, or something else. Power breeds greed.

"And so I couldn't stop myself from asking Neji if he could look at my chakra system when I tried to perform a jutsu, without thinking to much, he agreed; anything to help, just as before. We found the problem, it was my chakra highway. It blocked and opened in the wrong places. We worked on it, me performing jutsu, whilst Neji opened and closed the paths in the right places. Of course it worked, and after many months I was able to perform jutsu on my own. And for the first time since I had become a ninja, I could perform jutsu, I had overcome my weakness, the only thing that was holding me back from my true potential."

Sakura leaned forward and took his hand, for comfort, to show that she might not have been there for him then, and as guilty as that made her feel, she would be here now-- for as long as she had left. He smiled up at her weakly, the smile was not his usual brimming, tooth shining one, but she guessed it was the best he could offer for now, as he revealed how he got himself into such a mess.

His brows darkened into a frown as he continued, "You know how me and Gai-sensei are, we take on a harder mission than the last and try to do it in less time, we train harder than the day before and do it in less time, and so I pushed myself far too much. My body couldn't take it, no matter how much medication I was on, from the operation, I didn't seem to be getting any better, only worse. And now, for my greed, I'm back on the genin roster, only being allowed to take on missions in the village; my body is too weak, and bones keep braking for no apparent reason. Tsunade-sama told me it was either genin work, or I could no longer be a shinobi, and as wounded as I was, I figured I would come for my weakly appointments here, and start out from scratch, you know, work my way from genin back up, if and when I'm well enough."

He seemed to have stopped; sure his story was finished, Sakura did all she could do not to cry, and uttered, "I'm so sorry Lee-kun, I really am." She felt so bad for him, he didn't deserve this, he wasn't greedy either. If she could only perform Taijutsu, and had a comrade that could see inside her with his or her eyes and take a look at the problem, she would do exactly as he had. If there was a way to correct her chakra paths so she could use jutsu like everybody else, and better herself and skills, she would have taken it as well. He really didn't do anything wrong, and it was eating her up that she hadn't known, that she wasn't there for him. "I cant believe I was so blind, that I didn't realise. I'm sorry."

With the hand of hers he was holding, Lee rubbed his thumb over her soft skin, "Its alright, Sakura-san. You wasn't blind, I didn't want anyone to know, so I hid all the signs; I asked Tsunade-sama to keep it a secret, if she would be the sole person to treat me, and no one else. Its not your fault, don't work yourself up about it."

"Hai." She replied with a little sniffle. Pull yourself together, she thought to herself. Though in her mind she knew it was more than what Lee told her that was getting her upset. It was her delayed reaction to her mission, even though she knew she was helping everyone, even possibly saving their lives, she wondered how she would cope not being there to heal their wounds, emotional as well as physical. And the realization that she was going to have noone to go to too heal her wounds, no one was going to be there for her to lean on, not atleast till the very end, and even then it might be too late, if she didn't make it back home.

And all of a sudden, she wasn't so sure she was cut out for the mission she had accepted, maybe it was a mistake.

"Are you doubting yourself, Sakura-san?" Lee asked, bringing her out of her reveries; and as she looked up at his expression, it seemed that it was more of an accusation than a question.

She just looked at him for a moment, it had been a while since she had spent some quality time with Lee -and most of her other friends for that matter, except for her team- and she wondered if he knew what she was thinking, if her self doubt was that clear in her expression, or if he just knew her far too well.

"No." she replied, trying to sound indifferent, "Don't be silly now, Lee."

"Fair enough, Sakura-san." he said slowly now, looking deep in thought, "Never doubt yourself though, it never has a good outcome.. I mean look at me, it left me crippled, well, for a shinobi anyway."

They laughed lightly together.

When all was quiet again, Sakura declared, "I'll try, as long as you promise to as well."

"Deal." he replied after a moment, he held out his hand and they shook on it.

"So what does Shishou usually do." And when he looked at her like he didn't get it, she gestured to his body and explained, "You know, what does she examine, or heal."

"Oh.. She just checks my bone structure, makes sure everything's working right, and looks for breaks; broken bones, fractures…"

"Aa, I better get to it then. No point in you staying here longer than you need to be."

She smiled at him as she begun examining his body with chakra, probing around here and there; she found a few minor fractures which she healed immediately. They didn't speak after that, and she was thankful that he never questioned her, as to what she was doubting, even though she knew he knew it wasn't to do with anything he confessed, but something underneath.

* * *

When Lee left, Sakura closed the door, and slouched against it. It was a little too quiet as she healed him, and her mind had a lot to go over in that time; healing had become second nature to her over the years, and so it wasn't much of a distraction.

She listened to his quiet footfalls as he made his way down the long corridor outside, it was a peaceful sound, a quiet echo, and so she concentrated on only that, blocking out all her nagging thoughts.

She did this for about a minute, but then he stopped, though he wasn't at the end of the corridor yet. The kunoichi was about to step out to see if he was alright, when her keen ears picked up someone else's approaching steps. She stayed still and listened. It was a female, she knew that much, her steps were light with a repetitive click of the heels.

"Aah, there you are, I was just looking for you." It took all but a second for Sakura to register the voice, soft but full of authority, it was Tsunade.

"Tsunade-sama." Lee said in acknowledgement.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here this morning Lee, I had other matters to attend too."

"Its fine, Tsunade-sama."

"I take it someone has seen to you?" she inquired.

"Yes, Sakura-san."

"Good. How was it?"

"Alright, the usual, just a few fractures."

Sakura could just see the frown on her Shishou's face. The usual meant her patient wasn't getting better; an aspect that Tsunade never did like very much.

"Very well. See you next week."

And then the pink-haired kunoichi could hear two sets of footsteps, travelling in different directions. She knew Tsunade would know which room she was in, by the ware bouts of her chakra signature, so pushing herself off the door, she went to sit where Lee lay moments ago.

Not a minute later there was a soft rap at the door. "Its just me Sakura, can I come in?"

The pink-haired kunoichi deduced from her shishou's overly polite attitude today that either, she could sense that Sakura was feeling upset, or she was generally in a good mood. It was unusual for her to knock and then ask if she could come in, normally she would just barge in unannounced like she owned the place, which she did.

"Hai." she whispered in response, unintentionally. She would have to work on that, or Tsunade was sure to figure her out, and if she knew she was doubting herself over the mission, Sakura knew she wouldn't send her.

The door creaked open slowly, and Tsunade popped her head around the door, before entering. She had a small white-pink file in the crease of her arm, which the young kunoichi knew to be hers, and her mind started to reel with questions.

Closing the door behind herself, the blonde went to sit in the chair across from her, placing the folder in her lap. "Is everything alright, Sak?"

"Yes, shishou."

"You sure? You look a little pale."

"So do you."

"No sleep." the blonde answered furrowing her brows slightly. She wasn't confused, she knew her student well; she was being vague, which meant she was trying to dodge something, but she wasn't so sure what that might be.

"Same." Sakura saw the crease form between her shishou's brows, this wasn't good, it just meant she was on to her.

She was being defensive, Tsunade mused, smiling slightly now. Her pink haired daughter was trying to hide something, and she worried that it might have something to do with the mission. Now she just had to decide if it was fear, worry, doubt, or something else; it wouldn't be that difficult though, she'd find out before the session was done. Meanwhile she would act like she hadn't a clue anything was wrong.

"Right." the blonde started in a business-like voice, "I'm sure your wondering why I wanted to meet here, and why ive got your file."

To be totally honest with herself, she wasn't wondering, she had completely forgot. Sakura didn't mind though, now her shishou was there, she had something to occupy her mind from her unwanted thoughts.

"I was actually, Midori-san told me that you wanted to go over something with me." It came out more like a question, than a statement.

"Yes." the blonde answered with a smile, "Today Sakura, we are going to start the preparations for you to be able to use Sozo Saisei."

"Preparations?" she questioned bemused.

"Well as you already know, the jutsu comes with a permanent seal." Tsunade replied, pointing to the small purple diamond in the middle of her forehead; seeing the worried look on her students face, she elaborated, "Don't worry, you don't have to have it in the same place I have, or have the same symbol for that matter, its entirely up to you."

"Right," Sakura said, relaxing a little, "So, how do we do this."

Opening the file in the jutsu section, Tsunade took out a pen from her pocket and passed it to the pinkette. "First, as you know, you have to place your signature below the jutsu's name to show that you are learning this technique and that someone didn't just write it in, for whatever reason."

"Hai." Sakura said as she signed the little dotted line below Sozo Saisei, with a scrubby Haruno. S.

"Sorted." the blonde continued as she closed the file, placing it on the bedside table. With that done and out the way, it was time to start what she actually came here for. "Now this might put you out for a few hours to a day, but it is necessary, before I can teach you how to store up your chakra and activate the seal."

"What do you mean?" Sakura began looking panicked, "I cant be laying around in bed all day tomorrow Shishou, its my Okaa-san's anniversary date, I have plans."

"I know Sakura, your mother was one of my shinobi after all; just relax, I have a feeling this wont take too long. We are just going to place the seal, and were done for today, alright?"

Breathing out a sigh of relief, the pink-haired kunoichi said, "Okay, lets get this over with then."

"Right, but first I need to explain to you how this works; I should have before you signed it actually, never mind.

"Over time, you have to concentrate a small amount of chakra to the seal -wherever you choose to have it- which will take the form of a shape or symbol, that you either choose, or leave to fate. Now when you release the seal, the chakra disperses and stimulates the proteins of your body to increase the speed of cell division and the reconstruction of your cells for as long as you have enough chakra to sustain it… Are you following?"

"Hai, please continue shishou."

"This will allow you to recreate all organs and tissue; though the technique itself does not regenerate the old cells, rather it hastens the recreation of new ones through division. Now this is where the problem lies.."

"A bodies cells can only split a certain number of times in ones lifespan, and so by speeding up this process, you shorten your natural lifespan." Sakura finished for her. She had already learnt that during her medical studies, and it was one of the main reasons why medical-ninja are taught to let the body heal on its own if possible; as healing jutsu has the same effect.

"Well remembered, Sakura. You seem to understand well enough, so shall we begin?"

"I suppose. Are there any hand seals?"

"Iye. Tora, Ne, U." the blonde further explained, "When making the seal you use: U, Ne, Tora; but every time after that its: Tora, Ne, U."

"Sound easy enough; what do you need me to do?" Sakura asked feeling a little nervous now.

"Just lye back, and I'll talk you through the _Infuin kai."_

The pink-haired kunoichi quickly complied, and placed her hands on her stomach, which was feeling overly anxious.

"Perform U, Ne, Tora." the hokage commanded, and when Sakura did, she continued, "Now focus on where you want the seal, just picture that spot and nothing else. Concentrate your chakra to it, slowly, you need to do this until you've nearly run out."

Sakura furrowed her brows, she hadn't a clue where she wanted the seal, but figured it shouldn't be in plane sight for everybody to see. It needed to be hidden, not just for the missions sake, but to spare Shizune's feelings as well; though she would fully understand if she knew what the mission entailed. So where? Before she really had time to think too much about it, she started drawing chakra to her neck, above her raging pulse. It was a difficult task, and soon she was panting with the effort.

_I thought Kakashi-sempai said the soles of your feet were the hardest place to concentrate chakra to… I don't remember it being this hard._

"Focus Sakura." Tsunade's voice boomed through the silence, 10 minutes later; it was like a distant echo, seeming so far away.

Sakura's panting hadn't slowed down any, if anything it had excelled. Her eyes were shut tight against the burning pain in her neck, and she only hoped that it was nearly over, otherwise she was going to pass out before she had even finished.

"I know it hurts, but you need to focus, or it wont work."

"Hai, Shishou." she replied through gritted teeth, feeling more determined now, she wasn't going to go through this a second time, she needed to get it right, and now.

The searing pain seemed to have intensified some, rather than dulling down like Sakura thought; only now she could feel small pulses of it in her arms and legs, her stomach even, and just when she thought she couldn't take it anymore, her shishou spoke up again.

"That's it Sak, keep at it your nearly done. I just need you to think of a symbol now, anything you want it to be; if that's too much, you can just leave it up to fate to choose for you. Either way, up the speed when your ready, and that will form the seal."

The pink-haired kunoichi couldn't even speak now against the pain, never mind think; so rather than trying to answer her shishou, or think of a symbol, she decided it was better left to fate, and upped the rate at which her chakra was travelling to her neck. She knew she was nearly done now, because every muscle in her body felt like it was on fire, her energy was nearly drained, and she couldn't for the life of her remember the last time she let her chakra drop so dangerously low.

But she knew she was going to be alright, even though her senses were distorted, she could feel Tsunade's grip on her hand.. Like a motherly support. And when she didn't have enough chakra left to keep going, she let herself fall into the comfort of the darkness that awaited, and fell unconscious-- but not before she heard what her shishou said.

"Oh my gosh, Sakura, I don't believe it." Tsunade gasped in morbid fascination.

* * *

_I got so into this chapter whilst I was writing it, that 4 pages in I started writing in first person, it didn't seem like I was thinking, it was just writing itself. Lol. And then I was like damn it, and had to turn all the I's into she's and me's into hers. _

_Before I go I just wanted to say thank you for the reviews *Smile* Keep 'em coming haaha; and sorry for the long wait, my lifes pretty hectic at the moment, thank the snow and no college for this one Lool._

_Next chapter: Seven Day Countdown: Uchiwa Fans, And Anniversary Dates._

_Ja ne,_

_**Rudii**eee-**Miko**mii**.x**_


	5. Chapter Four, Dreams

Chapter four: Seven Day Countdown: Dreams.

* * *

It must have been around late noon, though nobody would have guessed; for the sun still continued to blaze down over the streets of Konoha, mercilessly, like it wasn't going to have another day.

The copy ninja was currently trying to track down the pinkette of his team. He'd searched high, and low; her usual department at the hospital, the training grounds, her home, Ino's flower shop, her favourite dango restaurant even, but to no avail. It was like she had finally picked up, or learnt his own tactics of: _how not to be found. _Well if this was the case, at least he knew that she would always be safe, if she chose to hide; then he decided that he should request of her to make it a habit -outside the village use only- it might come in useful to her one day.

He could feel the light sheen of sweat glazing his palms and forehead; wet and sticky. With a sigh of irritation, he stowed away his book and took to the nearby rooftops. He would try the ramen stand next, and if she wasn't there, he decided it was straight to the hokage tower. He was worried to say the least; never had his little cherry blossom been so hard to find.

The silver-haired jounin spotted the box-shaped building in the distance, and made his way over, full speed. When he arrived, he lifted the nearest white flap to the bar.

Perched on a stool, eagerly digging into, what smelt like miso ramen with pork, was Naruto; clad in the usual orange and black, though he had traded his usual tracksuit for an orange t-shirt with a black swirl on the back, and a pair of black shorts.

"Yo."

"Kaka-sensei." Naruto greeted cheerfully in-between slurps of noodles; not needing to turn around to see who had spoken.

"You haven't seen Sakura by any chance, have you?" Kakashi asked, his voice hinting his urgency.

"No. She's probably working." he replied, nonchalantly. Then, he put his bowl back down to the bar with a loud clink -his miso soup splattering his clothes as he did so- and quickly spun round on his stool to face his teacher; his expression was set with worry as he exclaimed, "Why?! What's going on?! Is she okay?!"

"Nothing, she's fine." Kakashi quickly assured his blonde-haired student; he really didn't feel like calming down a Kyuubi induced Naruto right now.

"Why so serious, then?" the blonde inquired, going back to his precious ramen.

"She just missed training." He muttered automatically, pondering to himself, rather then answering the question.

"You made me spill my ramen, because Sakura-chan missed _training_?" he whispered threateningly, as he narrowed his eyes.

Kakashi was deep in thought. What he wanted to say was, _'__isn__'__t that odd to you?__'_but he had no intention of giving Naruto his wanted reaction. He wasn't going to take the bait. He just wasn't in the mood for a friendly argument, that would lead to a long, intense sparing session. He didn't have time to waste; something seemed out of place, and he wasn't going to stop searching until he found out just what it was.

"Oh never mind." Naruto sighed, sensing his sensei's mood. "If you see Sakura, will you tell her I'll meet her at her place tomorrow morning?"

"Hai. If you see her, will you tell her I'm looking for her?"

"Sure."

With a slight inclination of his head, Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke; arriving near the steps leading into the hokage tower moments later.

It had always bothered him that he couldn't transport himself directly into the hokage's office, but he fully understood the dangers that came along with using jutsu in the tower. An enemy could directly attack the hokage, before she had chance to sense the danger. Also, the files containing private information about all the shinobi in the village could easily be stolen.

There were many more reasons, but Kakashi didn't have the time to be thinking of them as he ran up the stairs, heading for Tsunade's office. When he reached the wooden, double doors, he almost hissed out in frustration. There was no chakra signature coming from the room. _Now what…? _

The silver-haired jounin reached under his hitai-ate to rub his sharingan eye, it always ached when he was irritated or stressed. He felt lost. First he couldn't find Sakura, now Tsunade. Something was definitely going on; but why wasn't he in on it? He just couldn't understand.

"Kakashi-san, what's the matter..?" a soft feminine voice uttered to him.

He turned in the direction that the voice came. It was Shizune. She was wearing the usual dark, floor length kimono, a grey obi tied round her delicate waist.

"Where's Tsunade-sama?"

"She's been doing rounds at the hospital since this morning." she answered tilting her head to the side in a curious manner, "Is it anything I can assist you with?"

"No, thanks, Shizune." pulling his hand through his silver locks, he said, "Its not urgent, ill drop by later or something."

"Ok. Bye." she waved.

"Ja ne." and with that he walked along the curved corridor and down the entrance flight of stairs with forced calmness, in his usual aloof manner. It would do no good if he made Shizune suspicious of things so soon.

Once out of sight he transported himself into the hospital. Instead of sneaking around like he had earlier, he went straight to the front desk. The receptionist was filling out paper work. He noticed the name tag pinned to the front of her blouse as she looked up at him when he approached.

His eye curved into a smile; she smiled back cheerily.

"May I help you?"

"Ah, yes." he scratched the back of his head. "You see, I helped an elderly woman out today. She collapsed, and so I brought her here. Tsunade-sama took care of her. I wanted to see if she woke, her daughter was terribly worried and asked if I would be so kind as to check on her."

"I see, well do you have a name." she asked as she pulled out a small keyboard to work the computer.

"Do you happen to know where Tsunade-sama is?" he asked instead.

"I do, but she's busy. She doesn't want to be interrupted."

"Midori-san, it will only take a minute."

"I'm sorry.. Err.." she looked at him apologetically.

"Hatake."

"Yes, well I'm sorry Hatake-san. She doesn't want to be disturbed. I can tell her you came by, but that is all." her tone was inflexible.

Kakashi sighed quietly to himself. He lifted his hand to rub his eye, he really didn't want to do this to the poor woman, but she was being difficult- and instead made to lift his hitai-ate swiftly. He now knew at least Tsunade was somewhere in the hospital, he just had to find out where.

Suddenly a soft but firm hand held his in place. His visible eye went wide for a second, and then he composed himself, crinkling his eye innocently.

"Eye bothering you, Hatake..?" Tsunade spoke quietly, and he heard the underlying menace.

"Its nothing I cant handle." he stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Don't be silly. Come with me, and I'll have a look."

"Hai." it was all an act, he knew.

"Tsunade-sama..?" Midori uttered.

"I still have things to do. I'll tend to Hatake, and then get back to it. I don't want to be disturbed."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama."

And with that the hokage marched him up to the seventh floor. She was walking ahead, briskly, with a thumb nail in her mouth, her other hand dragging him along. Was she stressed..? Just what was going on?

The ward was eerily quiet, even to him. The perfect place to stay out the way, unseen. They stopped at the end of a long corridor. The overhead florescent lights were off, and there was no window. Kakashi felt slightly weary, just what was she up too..?

Something was flying his way, he sensed it. Quickly shoving up his hitai-ate, he dodged it. He could see now, albeit in black and white, but it was better than nothing. There were two signatures, he noticed: One casually leaning against the wall, and the other reaching out to him again.

"You little brat.. Get here."

"But Tsunade-sama.."

"I don't want to hear it Hatake." and he felt her pulling at his ear now, and then he could feel her soft breath on his ear; soft but threatening. "If you ever try something like that again on any of my receptionists, or nurses, there's going to be hell to pay." she pulled his ear hard. "Do you hear me..?"

"Clearly, ma'am."

"Smart ass." the retort was authoritive, but with some humour lacing her tone.

He heard gruff laughter from the signature leaning against the wall. "It would be best not to get her riled up at present, kid. She's about ready to explode."

"Jiraiya-sama?"

"Yeah, it's me. But I'd appreciate it if you don't tell Blondie I'm here, it's strictly business, and besides, he gets in-between me and my research too much."

"I noticed. When's the next novel out Jiraiya-sama? It was supposed to be out last month."

"I'm not publishing it.."

"What do you mean?" he panicked, "Can I at least read the manuscript?"

"Sure, but you didn't let me finish." his chakra flared excitedly, "I'm working on a new plot. Much better than the last. I just thought of it today actually, you can thank pinkie in there for the idea." he pointed to one of the rooms.

"Really, what is it?"

"Espionage. The heroine falls in love with the bad guy." his voice sounded disapproving as he continued, "Tsunade-chan here doesn't think so though, you'll understand in a minute or two."

"I see. Still, I like the sound of it."

"ENOUGH!!" Tsunade's voice boomed, as she whacked them both atop their heads, "I've had enough of the smut talk, I really don't want to hear the nasty details."

"Hai." they both exclaimed in union. Kakashi really wasn't feeling for another bruise.

"Right. As you've probably guessed by now, I brought you hear for a reason Kakashi; Jiraiya knows about the mission. He wanted to talk to Sakura, but now its best left for a later date…"

"We have a problem." Jiraiya cut her rambling short, as he stepped from the wall. He opened a door, bathing a dim light into the hallway. "Go and take a look for yourself. It's the seal."

Kakashi walked into the room and immediately went to his students side. He looked her over and instantly took note of the bandages round her slender neck. She was dressed in a hospital gown, and wrapped chest to toe in a thick blanket; it wasn't a hospital one, neither Sakura's. Perhaps Tsunade's, after all, she did seem to care for Sakura in a unique way, in a motherly way.

"She's going to need you when she wakes up, Hatake." Tsunade murmured from the door, "Please be there for her."

"Of course." he whispered in reply, not wanting to disturb the sleeping kunoichi. "So this is what you've been up to today. I searched high and low, and when I couldn't find her…"

"I knew you would, that why I came to get you."

"Is it bad..?" he went on even quieter still.

"She's not injured, the procedure went fine." Tsunade informed him, "Its the seal itself that's going to be the problem."

"I see. Can I?" he hovered a gloved hand over her neck, where the bandage was soiled slightly.

"Yes, we'll just be outside." and with that, she closed the door, leaving them in privacy.

He gently brushed the fallen strands of pink -though they looked a light shade of gray to him through his sharingan- out of her eyes, and tucked them behind her ear. Then he carefully went to remove the bandage, but hesitated. He opted to settling his hand on her forehead instead. It was cute, and he never understood why she despised it so. He heard Sakura intake a sharp breathe, she was breathing a little more raggedly now, and he felt concern flood his entire being.

Suddenly his body went still and rigid as he felt himself plummeted into darkness. At first he thought the light had gone out, but soon realised he was on a dark plane.

"What in the world.." he muttered to himself.

He didn't know what was happening, or where he was for that matter. His whole being was tense and ready to spring into action. It felt like a powerful genjutsu. Was this Sakura's doing..? Or somebody else's..? He folded his fingers into a dispel seal, but froze. He saw a flash of pink, blossom pink.

"Sakura." he called out to her softly, cautiously.

And then she was a few feet away, appearing out of nowhere. She was crouched low, though not defensively, but in an awkward position. Tears streamed down her face, her hands shaking violently. He only noticed this through his sharingan. Her clothing was different, she wore an Akatsuki cloak.

"Sakura!" he called out to her again, but to no avail, she didn't respond.

He tried to take a step forward, reaching out to her, but his feet wouldn't move. What was wrong with his body? He could move fine, he noticed as he turned his gloved hand over, gazing at the leaf engraved on the silver plate; so why couldn't he move?

He sensed a burst of chakra, and was instantly on alert. It was much more powerful than Sakura's; gentle, but a little dark, angry even. He lifted his gaze until his mismatched eyes met Sakura. Bright pink chakra, almost red in colour, blazed furiously around her hands. Was this her energy he was feeling, and if so, why..? What had happened to her to make it change..?

"Sakura!" he shouted to her. He could feel her distress, and it was suffocating him in a way he couldn't describe.

Forcing his chakra to his legs, he pushed forward. At first it felt like he was getting closer, but as he managed to break off into a sprint, she seemed to float further away. Her distress mounted. He wanted to run to her side, to embrace her, and tell her that everything would be okay; but he couldn't, and it irritated him so. But he kept at it, pushing himself further. He watched her, and though he couldn't hear her, her lips were moving, she was shouting out in a frenzied panic. His eyes widened, as he read her chapped lips.

"_Stay with me. Stay with me, Sasuke. Don't leave me now, I've only just got you back." _she stopped for a second, then pleaded with a pained expression, _"Please, Sasuke, don't die."_

A knot formed in his stomach, tightening every time he took a breathe. He pushed his legs forward like never before. He didn't seem to be using his own chakra, but energy from another source; it was like he was being pulled in her direction. He was getting closer, and she stayed put. He felt relief course through his body, but only minutely.

The darkness below him, disappeared, but not into nothingness like he would have thought. The whole scene around him changed. He was surrounded by rubble, and upturned earth. The buildings were obliterated, the only remains being half walls, and parts of there foundation. Smoke wisped into the already cloudy, smoggy air. Kakashi's keen nose could smell the smoke, the stench of burnt flesh in the atmosphere, and blood; strong and repugnant, he had to fight the urge to shrink away as he wrinkled his nose. Bodies were littered everywhere: on collapsed buildings, strewn across the ground, in dented walls; bloodied, and mangled. But not all of them. No, there were faces' he recognised, pieces of uniform that only certain shinobi wore. His friends, his fellow shinobi, all of them dead, not a flicker of chakra left in their system.

He was rooted to the ground as he took in the remains. It was the devastation caused by a battle, a fierce battle. And it was dark. The clouds were curdling together, thick and ominous. It was heavily raining, he noticed, his clothes were soaked through. But lost in his own adversity, he had failed to take note.

This was like his worst nightmare come true. It was Konoha, his home, and all its inhabitants, destroyed, gone forever. And he wasn't so sure this was a genjutsu anymore. It felt too real. The scene, the inner turmoil. A wave of nausea hit him, and he felt livid. But he didn't cry, scream or shout, as pain rippled through his chest, as his eyes stung and burnt. This was exactly why he had built up his walls, wore his mask. It was to keep people out, to save his soul of going through the torment it had once been through. And as his vision swam, and blurred, he knew he had failed terribly.

"Sasuke!! I'm begging you, don't go! Please don't go.." it was Sakura. She was shouting out loud and raw with emotion, her voice sounding almost harsh, scratchy.

He started in the direction of her voice. He didn't understand what was happening and why. He had completely succumbed to the vision. Forgetting it was genjutsu, his worst nightmare; and ran for all he was worth.

He rounded the corner, jumping over the fallen walls, and scattered glass, purposefully dodging and weaving round the bodies. He refused to step on them, even by accident, he would never disrespect them in such a way.

Crouched upon a high mountain of rubble was his pink-haired student, in the same position as before. He wasn't confused this time, as he look on. He understood what she was doing, where the distress had come from.

Naruto lay on the ground below the mountain, his body battered and bruised, his face set in a grimace of pain. But there was life in him, swirling about his stomach, a deep orange and blue; although he was barely alive, hanging on by a thread, a thread of determination no doubt. His tracksuit was torn and burnt in random patches, and judging from the bright pink, newly healed flesh, he knew that the Kyuubi had made his rounds, that the blonde hadn't gone down without a vigorous fight.

Lay beside Naruto, was a very gray, wrinkled looking Tsunade. The diamond on her forehead gone. She'd used Sozo Saisai, however, there was no life energy left in her body, and Kakashi felt his stomach plummet, and his body tremble. There was no Hokage, the village had lost their leader, along with all its lives, bar three- his students- no, bar four.

He saw his own body lay limp, propped up on a rocky wall not too far away. His hitai-ate was nowhere to be seen. He was alive, his energies a little more depleted than Naruto's; but that was to be expected, he did have a larger reserve of chakra than himself after all. And as Kakashi looked into the mask-less face of himself, he felt strange. Not just because there was two of him; but for that fact that he had survived another war. And he couldn't help asking himself, _'why..?'_

He didn't have much time to dwell on it though, as he heard a splutter, and a sharp intake of breath from his raven-haired student. Much to Kakashi's surprise, he wasn't wearing one of Orochimaru's garbs, but a Jounin uniform, with a Konoha hitai-ate tied loosely around his neck.

"Oh, thank Kami." he heard Sakura mutter into the young Uchiha's open jounin vest.

Instead of pushing her away, he held her close, as he looked around with searching eyes. "Its all going to be okay, I'm here, _you're _here; we still have sensei and the dobe even. We'll all be fine."

"But don't you hate me..?" she whispered trembling slightly.

"No. I cant say I'm happy with your decisions though, Sakura, you made some pretty bad ones. It was because of you that I got a second chance, so its only right I give you one," he paused, tightening his grip slightly around her waist, "gave you both one."

Kakashi didn't know who Sasuke was talking about at first, but not a second later, a tall, build, dark-haired shinobi flashed to Sakura's side. He was also in an Akatsuki cloak, though it couldn't really be called a cloak anymore, it was a mere piece of material clung to his body, torn and shredded. Loose bangs floated around him as the wind picked up, dark bangs, and those red eyes-- it was Uchiha Itachi.

"I couldn't find any more survivors, I'm sorry. I lay out all the bodies I found in rows on the east side of the village." his tone was soft, and full of regret, his eyes cast downward. "Tobi should be done shortly."

"No.. Itachi.. Sasuke.. Why is this happening?" Sakura started to sob.

Kakashi didn't know why Itachi was there, but judging by what he had said, he came with Sakura to help. He yearned to comfort Sakura, to wipe away the tears, to cradle her in his arms like a father would his child. Her once bright green eyes were dark, tormented and dull with hardships.

"Its okay. Tobi will make Sakura-san all better." Kakashi's head shifted to the familiar voice, it was boyish, so child-like, and yet his whole body flooded with relief. He didn't know why, but he knew that voice.

It was another Akatsuki, and Kakashi would have been confused, but as he turned, he saw a face-clad in half a mask, a face he once knew, albeit a lot older. The orange mask was split down the middle. His face was scared, but not as badly as he would have thought, and he could move, which was a surprise in itself. The man was like a light at the end of a blacked out tunnel. Amidst his worst nightmare, was his daymare. Something he ever only saw happen in his dreams. His friend was alive, he didn't know how that could be, but he wasn't complaining.

"Obito." he whispered, his eyes watering. His soul rejoiced, as he felt it sow back together, it was only a fraction, but it was the bit that had been gone since the 'death' of his friend.

"Tobi." Itachi spoke quietly, "Any survivors?"

"No, the last Tobi found was Kakashi-san." the visible side of his face frowned. "Tobi lined up all of the body-san's on the west, just like Itachi told him to."

"Good boy." Sakura whispered.

Obito saved him..? When in his life would he ever be the rescuer. His old friend seemed to have saved his life, again.

"How is Kakashi-san doing..?" Obito asked, tilting his head in the direction of Kakashi's limp body.

"He should be fine, Sakura healed most of the damage, his life is no longer in danger."

"Tobi's glad to hear it!"

He cared..? Did he even know who he was? Or had he suffered too much brain damage from the accident?

Sasuke sighed then, turning Sakura over in his arms. Kakashi's eyes bugged, and he couldn't compose himself like usual. Nope, he stared hard, confusedly almost, at Sakura's large bump. "Lets just start again, ne? All of us." he looked in Kakashi's direction, sharingan still ablaze from the battle, as though sensing his presence, and smiled softly.

Then the raven-haired Uchiha looked in the direction of Kakashi's crumpled body, and spoke a little louder than before, "What do you say sensei..? You in?"

His body moved stiffly on the ground, as he looked in the direction of Sasuke, "If we must."

But as he looked at himself, he could see the haunted reflection on the surface of his orbs, the deep shadows under his eyes, and the tenseness of his own shoulders. The world as he knew it had ended. What were they supposed to do now?

He was listening in on his other-self's thoughts, and it felt odd to him, but not enough to stop him.

They needed to get out of there, get to safety before the other nations showed up, and finished what Amegakure had started.

'_Rain..? They did this..?' _Kakashi felt mystified; but it had to be true, it was his other-self that had lived through the tremendous battle, so it must have been.

"Too Suna it is." he heard the blonde croak from his position beneath the mountain.

"Not quite yet, Naruto-san." Itachi interrupted, "Sakura needs rest, she is heavily pregnant after all. We need to get these bodies to a place of rest first."

"Once I've rested, I'll transport us to Suna; I only need a couple of hours."

He suddenly felt distance gain between himself and them, the mind connection with his other-self broke, and he was thrust into darkness once more. But instead of appearing back on the dark plane, he opened his mismatched eyes to the hospital room, with Sakura snoozing in the bed.

What was that just now, he thought to himself, was he in Sakura's head, in her dream? He wasn't sure. He didn't know how long he had been gone, but no doubt Tsunade would be checking in soon, so with wobbly legs, he perched on the edge of Sakura's bed.

He looked her over. She looked as though she'd been sweating, her face still slightly red. There was more blood on the bandage around her neck. But other than that she seemed fine.

The curiosity was killing him, just what was wrong with the seal? Tsunade had said that the procedure had gone fine, and that she was not injured, which meant one thing, it was the shape of the seal that was going to be the problem.

Kakashi hadn't really given much though as to what Sakura's seal would be. He stupidly thought it would take on the form of a diamond like Tsunade's, but that obviously wasn't the case.

His gloved hand hovered anxiously over Sakura's neck, and for a split second, he thought he saw the Suna emblem engraved on the silver plate of his glove. But when he blinked, it was just a leaf. He was going mad; Sakura was certainly going to be the death of him.

He carefully lifted her head from her pillows, unravelling the soiled bandages. Tilting her head to the side, his sharingan eye took in every curve of her slender neck. He quickly closed it as his gaze swept across the problem. And how right Tsunade had been, this was definitely going to be a problem; but more importantly, what did it mean..?

He gently lay her head back down into the pillows. Setting her face away from him, the blood wasn't completely dry yet, and he didn't want to spoil the bedding.

The seal was concealed in blood, but he saw clearly what it was, and he didn't quite know how to feel. He marched towards the door, pulling it open.

Tsunade stepped forward wearily. "Kakashi..?"

He peered at her in the dark hallway, taking a minute to adjust his eye. And when he spoke his voice was quiet, but his tone clearly stated he was enraged, much to his own surprise, "The Uchiha fan..?" he questioned, "What the _hell_ does that mean..?!"

* * *

_Sorry about the cliffy guys, I hope I had you all on the edge of your seats, haaha._

_Yes the whole chapter was in Kakashi's point of view, it wasn't intentional, please don't bite me..?_

_Sakura had to be out for this chapter for obvious reasons, so I thought we'd enter Kakashi's world for a little while. I wanted Sakura to be in most of it though, hence the dream, it was a crazy on the spot type of idea.. Did use like it? I hope so. Don't worry though, it wasn't a random chapter/filler, it was a little more insightful than it should have been actually, my fingers on my keyboard ran away with me._

_I'm not too good at getting peoples emotions written out right, but I'm working on it, that's why I'm here, so I hope I didn't disappoint any of you._

_Thanks for the reviews everyone, I really appreciated them, you guys are my inspiration *Smiles* Everyone's guessing was really entertaining, and a few times I was going to mail you guys with an answer, but I didn't want to spoil it._

_Also if you can, will you guys do the poll on my page. I'm writing so many stories at once and I think its best if I concentrate on two main stories, the winning two. The other stories will be complete, so don't worry, they will just be updated a little slower, like once every two months, which will mean the winning two will be updated quite frequent. Here's my thanx in advance if you do; Arigato._

_**SwordMistress2069**- you actually gave me an idea for later on in this story, cherry blossoms and a fox eh, you inspired a nice idea. I just wanted to say thanks. *Smile*_

_**Stringless-marionette**- Thanx, I know it probably sounded confusing, Uchiwa fans in the chapter name kinda has a double meaning: Kishimoto got the name for the Uchiha's from the word Uchiwa, which is a type of fan, so you'll get that in part two; but it was also a little clue I dropped in about the seal. So yeah, it was meant to say Uchiwa, but thank you anyways._

_**Freak-4-God**- I cant believe you got it right, at first I though 'oh no, now everybody's going to know' but you didn't give it away too much. I was so glad. Lol._

_Next chapter: Who am I?_

_Sorry it got so long I had to split it. I will try to get part two out as fast as I can, in-fact, I'm already working on it ;) _

_Ja ne,_

_**Rudii**eee-**Miko**mi**.x**_


	6. Chapter Five: Mama, Who Am I?

-1Chapter Five: Seven Day Countdown: Mama, Who Am I?

* * *

He peered at her in the dark hallway, taking a minute to adjust his eye. And when he spoke his voice was quiet, but his tone clearly stated he was enraged, much to his own surprise, "The Uchiha fan..?" he questioned, "What the hell does that mean..?!"

"One of two things: Sasuke, or Itachi." Tsunade muttered unsurely, before going on a little more positively, "Either way its good, right? She'll succeed with the mission."

"Or.." Jiraiya added his own two pence, "She's half Uchiha."

"Stop talking nonsense Jiraiya."

That couldn't be true, Kakashi told himself. Sakura's mother was only ever involved with one Uchiha, even so, it was not sexually. But that could explain why Sakura didn't know who her father was. The relationship could have been a secret, and eight years later, he was massacred.

It was possible in some ways, he realised, but not others.

"She doesn't have the sharingan." he stated, his temper cooling.

"Not everyone is you, Kakashi, or a Sasuke, or Itachi even. If she doesn't know she's got it, it would take longer to activate."

Kakashi felt a shiver down his spine as the toad sannin spoke, just the thought of his raven-haired student opened up a mirador of bottled emotions; especially after what he had just witnessed in Sakura's room. He didn't know what it was but he would find time to think about that later.

"Jiraiya, you know its impossible. Sakura's mother wasn't associated with the Uchiha's." Tsunade's voice was stern; perhaps she would be on Kakashi's side of the disagreement.

"I'm building plot here." he laughed, "Stop ruining my creative spunk."

"Very funny Jiraiya." she said sarcastically. "Now Kakashi, she needs something to cover that neck, for obvious reasons, could you find something."

"Aa." and with that he set off, his mind in a disarray.

* * *

"What did you see yesterday, Kakashi?" Tsunade asked curiously from where she lounged on the foot of Sakura's bed. "And don't say nothing."

"Sakura's dream." he answered truthfully from the chair beside her bed, where he had slept the night, or tried to anyway. He had sat up for hours and hours going over what he originally suspected to be Genjutsu, and came to the conclusion that he was an onlooker trapped in Sakura's dream.

"Yume..?" she sounded confused. "How..?"

"I have no idea." he said no more.

"Well, do tell." she sounded intrigued, as she crossed one leg over the other leaning forward.

"No, Tsunade-sama." he refused respectfully. He knew he was going to hear a 'why?' so he though it best to answer it before she even asked. "Its an invasion of privacy, and I feel bad enough."

"Fair, enough." she spoke after a moment. "But if I may ask, was it to do with the mission? I want to help her Kakashi, but she's hiding something from me, and I only want to know what it is so I can help."

"She feels that she's going to fail the mission." was all he said, though it was clear that there was more, he didn't go on.

"I see. Well that's surprising, she's such a strong willed individual, I never thought that.."

"That she was a normal teenager, with a teenagers thoughts and feelings; the self doubts, not just work wise, but image wise as well."

"Kakashi.." Tsunade spoke softly.

"I don't think she can handle this mission, she's too soft hearted, too frail minded. There going to trick her, test her, and play with her mind, Tsunade-sama. These are just a few of the things she's already thought about. And when she wakes up, I just hope she doesn't break."

"..be there for her, that's all we can do. She had her chance to pull back Kakashi, and she still does. If she wants out, she's out." she tried to explain.

"But she wont." he went on a little more heatedly as he stood, fists clenched at his side, "She _wont _back out and she _wont _quit, because her friends, comrades, and the village mean more to her than her _own_ life."

"And that's why she's a shinobi of Konoha, Kakashi." she spoke wisely, but fiercely; and he knew she was right.

"I know." he admitted, sullenly, after a beat of silence.

"It's her job, and she's damn good at it. Don't doubt her just yet, because if you do, it will only give her more reason to doubt herself." with that Tsunade got up and left.

* * *

"Kakashi..?" Sakura spoke groggily. She had kept her eyes closed when she woke, sensing her surroundings as she came back to reality.

"I'm here." he spoke, and she could feel him grip her hand as he slid to her side.

"Did it work?"

"Yes." he answered, but there was something in his voice she couldn't discern.

"Good. What time is it? How long have I been out?" her eyes fluttered open, as she looked at him slightly unfocused.

"Its only half ten. You've not even been out a day." he replied, "Glad to have you back."

He smiled behind his mask, she could see, but it didn't reach his eyes, there was no crinkle. Something must have happened whilst she was out, but what..?

"What's the matter?" she asked trying to sit up.

"Nothing, don't worry about me. How are you feeling?" he asked offering his assistance.

"Fine, just a bit groggy, but that's usual." she smiled, as he sat her upright, and then went on to fluff her pillows.

She wasn't in the same room she had last been in, she noticed. She lay on a bed, instead of a table for one. She seemed to be in an in-patient room. There was a small window with bars on the outside, to prevent accidents she knew. There was a bedside table and a wardrobe. She saw the shiny cover of Kakashi's book on the table, and smiled.

"How long have you been here?" she was curious.

"Since I found you yesterday." he answered, "I've been in and out."

"Arigatou, Sempai."

"No problem." his smile almost reached his eyes then, but only for a split second.

Her emerald gaze found what they were looking for. A small door to the bathroom. She was just itching to see what her seal would look like and not to mention she needed a shower. She swung her legs off the side of the bed, and the cold air attacked her viciously. It was freezing. She squirmed, and pulled herself back in the duvet. Her gaze roved over it. It wasn't one she recognised.

"Kakashi-sempai?" she looked at him questioningly.

"Think its Tsunade's, its not mine." he said amusedly.

"Oh." She laughed, she should have known. It was black with pink and blue flowers imprinted across the fabric with a big yellow sun, a silver bird flying above. She traced them with her fingers nostalgically. She was the pink flower, Sasuke the blue bud, Naruto the bright sun, and Kakashi the wise bird. She wanted to keep it, to take it with her when she went, and maybe she would. "Pretty isn't it..?"

"I'll say. She has quite the unique taste, Tsunade-sama, can't imagine her actually using it though."

"Do you think she'll let me have it?" she asked then, her cheeks reddening in embarrassment, "I want to take it with me."

"Of course she would, Sakura." he smiled sincerely, but it still didn't reach his eyes.

"Seriously, what's the matter?" she raised her brow, indicating she wanted an answer, and she wanted it that very second.

He looked stunned, "Why do you think something's up?" he questioned instead.

"Your smile, its not reaching your eyes." she answered concernedly.

He crinkled his eye in that familiar way, but it wasn't the same. It made her a little angry, and so she threw the pillow at him, and when it missed she reached for the next.

"Sakura, its nothing really." he spoke seriously, raising his hands in surrender.

"_Yes_ it is." she went on insistently.

"I don't want to ruin a day meant for peace."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked with narrowed eyes. He was behaving peculiar, it was normal for him to dodge questions, but this time it was something more, she could feel it.

"It's your mothers anniversary." he spoke, which reminded him, "Naruto said he wanted to speak with you."

"I completely forgot." she directed her anger at herself now, as she mentally berated herself. How could she forget such an important day? It was her mothers anniversary for goodness sakes.

"Not really, you just woke up, and a lots been going on. Don't blame yourself." he spoke calmly, as if he knew what she was thinking, in a way that she couldn't argue with.

"Okay. What did Naruto say?"

"To let you know if I saw you that he'll meet you at your place. Probably something to do with your plans."

"Alright." she flung herself out of bed a little too quickly, her head spun. "Urg. I need to get a shower. Do I have any clothes?"

Kakashi was already on his feet, his grip steadying her. "Easy now, Sakura."

She sat back down on the bed.

"You didn't. But I brought you something." Kakashi then answered, walking over to the wardrobe.

"You did?" she asked sceptically, following him curiously with her eyes.

"What kind of friend would I be if I didn't."

Sakura watched him pull out a long item of clothing on a hanger, cased in a black zip-up protector. Flopping it gently over his arm he walked to her, and sat back in the chair beside her bed.

"Here." he said passing it to her, "You haven't brought anything special to wear today, have you?"

"No." she replied, taking it in her hands.

She ran her fingers gingerly down the soft velvet casing along the line of the zip. Near the bottom, stitched in, was the shop name. Mugen. Her fingers halted as she looked to Kakashi.

"What..?" he inquired.

"Mugen's." she whispered. He had never brought her anything so expensive before; books and perfumes were no big deal on birthdays, but he hadn't needed go to the trouble of buying her this. And even though he pitched in the most money to decorate her apartment, the price wouldn't have mounted to anywhere near the price of the kimono. "Kakashi, you shouldn't have. I don't have the money to pay you back for this."

"It's a gift Sakura. I don't want you to pay me back." he spoke quietly, reaching forward to unzip the bag. He stood then, lifting out the most breathtakingly beautiful kimono she had ever seen. It was a light shade of purple, her mothers favourite colour, a black print of butterflies running up one side. The obi's colours were reversed.

The pink-haired kunoichi gasped, "Kakashi, I cant accept that, you know I cant.. I'm sorry."

"What, you don't like it?" he chided lightly.

"No, I love it. Its so beautiful." She said shaking her head, she wasn't going to fall for the guilt trip, "It's just so _expensive_. I mean, it's from Mugen's Kakashi. Why did you buy it?"

With a sigh, he lay the kimono on the bed beside her. Then he crouched down in front of her, taking her hands. "I brought it you as a gift Sakura. A parting gift if you will, and it might be expensive, but just look at how many of your birthdays I'm going to miss. Not just that, but you should wear something special when visiting your mother, is she not worth more than the price of this kimono?"

"She is, but.."

"If she is then you will wear it. No excuses."

"Arigatou, Kakashi, arigatou." and she flung herself into his arms, nearly toppling the him over, but she didn't care. He returned the embrace, albeit a little awkwardly.

A few moments went by, and Sakura eventually peeled herself away from him to look back at the Kimono. She ran her hands down the silky texture, "I really don't deserve you." she whispered to it, she didn't mind if Kakashi thought her weird, Ino spoke to her dresses all the time, especially her shoes.

Kakashi stood and squeezed her shoulder, "You do."

Sakura smiled warmly in response. She felt emotion swell within her, a mixture of love and appreciation, but there was something else, she just couldn't put her finger on it. Maybe it was the excited feeling a young girl got when she received a present from her father, but she wasn't sure, because she had never known hers.

"How about that shower?" Kakashi suggested, "I went to your apartment yesterday and brought a towel, toothbrush and some other stuff you might need, there in a small bag on the stool."

"Thanks, Kakashi-sempai, what would I do without you?"

He looked perplexed, but she just laughed it off, and made her way to the bathroom. "I wont be long." and she closed the door behind herself.

* * *

Kakashi was going to leave, but then remembered that the hospital bathrooms had a mirror. So much for the peaceful day, he thought, he knew Sakura was going to inspect her seal. And when she saw it, he hadn't a clue how she would react, and though it best he stayed.

Going back over to the wardrobe, he pulled the small rectangular hand bag off the top shelf. The strap was a silver chain, the appearance the same as the obi-- black with lilac butterflies. Inside was a discrete velvet box containing a variety of coloured bandages which would come in handy for hiding the seal from prying eyes. Goodness knew what would happen if someone were to spot it, Ino especially. Kakashi internally winced at the thought of Sakura being accused of getting such a tattoo -because that's what it would look like to others- the narrowed eyes full of jealous, enraged scorn was slightly unsettling.

"_What the heck, oh my gosh.. No, no, no."_

And so it begins, Kakashi thought to himself as he rapped softly on the bathroom door, bag still in his other hand. "Everything alright in there, Sakura?"

"I, uh, yes of course." she flustered, "You just forgot nail polish, t-that's all."

Well it was a good excuse he'd say if he didn't know any better. "Sorry, I knew I'd forgotten something. I'll go get some, do you have any colour preferences?"

"Lilac.. No, teal, if you wouldn't mind sempai."

"I'll be back soon, don't go anywhere."

"I wont." she replied hastily, "There should be some on the drawer in my bedroom. Oh, no I don't think I have teal, er.. Emerald will have to do."

"Alright then. Don't worry, I'll sort it." he reassured her, knowing the real problem wasn't the polish, but the seal on the right side of her neck.

"Thanks a bunch." she called after him.

"Don't worry about it." he repeated, hoping she would get the double meaning of his words.

Kakashi placed the bag back on the shelf and disappeared with a small poof.

* * *

Sakura stared at her reflection in the mirror, taking deep breathes to calm her nerves. She looked calm and relaxed, but on the inside her mind was going haywire. She chanced another glance at the tiny, disturbing mark on her neck. The red and cream fan had manifested drearily against her pale white skin. If she wasn't so confounded, she might have thought it suited her, but as it happens, she wanted to tear it off, or better yet, singe it.

She visualised the electric blue chakra tingling the end of her finger as she hovered it over the seal, she felt the burn on her skin, the nauseating smell of burnt flesh, and saw the satisfied half smirk spread across her face as she looked to the black mark smudged across her neck, glistening in crimson blood. The colours of the sharingan.. And the Akatsuki cloak.

She quickly moved her hand away from her neck, bewildered as to the direction her thoughts were going. She didn't know why this had to happen. She didn't want to give herself over to the Akatsuki, to live and fight along side them like she was one of them. She didn't even want to look Uchiha Itachi in the eye, let alone be apart of something he was. She didn't want to be a murderer, and she didn't want to live amongst them; especially _him_, after all he had done to.. Sasuke.

She didn't want to go to the enemy, the dark side. She didn't want to fail the mission. That's what it all boiled down too. She was going to fail, and people were going to get hurt and die for her stupid mistakes.

She stripped down numbly, and stepped under the cool cascade of water. She blocked every thought from her mind, thankful for her ninja training, and concentrated solely on her shower. She felt the temperature warm as the minutes went by, the water dripping down her naked body tickling slightly as it ran over her sensitive areas. The arch of her neck, the soft curve of her back, down the centre of her stomach, and the length of her long legs.

She didn't know how long she stood there. Her chest growing heavy and empty, as her mind began to race again. Why did the seal have to be the Uchiha fan? What would everybody think? Would they think that she was still obsessed with the raven-haired Uchiha, that she hadn't gotten over her childhood crush, that feelings were still there, even after she had gone out with Naruto? Would they suspect that was why they broke up? Would they not see that they were better off as friends?

His tanned, whiskered face flashed in her head. The bright shocks of blonde hair that she was going to miss so much. That tantalising smile, warm and infectious. Would he lose it? Would it disappear from his face like when Sasuke left? She thought so. They were a lot more closer than Naruto had been to Sasuke. He was like a brother to Naruto, but she was like a sister, his best friend; they had a strange kind of love for each other that she would never be able to explain. They were inseparable. Their bond was truly unbreakable.

But was it?

Would it stay as strong as an iron link, or would it slowly crumble with time? Would he move on and forget about her existence? Because sometimes she wondered if he even cared about Sasuke anymore. He rarely ever spoke about him, battered an eyelid at his name, he acted so nonchalant. But was it all an act? She honestly didn't know.

Her mind was in a disarray, random thoughts popping into her head all jumbled up. She just didn't know what to think or feel. She had washed her body and hair in a robot like manner, mechanically, emotionlessly. And before she knew it, she was sat on the floor of the shower cubicle, arms wrapped around her knees. Crying. She would be happy to stay there like that for the rest of her life, sobbing, literally drowning in self-pity, than break Naruto's heart.

Maybe Sasuke had it right. That when a person went through something traumatising in life, something so drastic, that they _had_ to shut off. Rid their mind of emotion, of feeling; because if she didn't, she would only get hurt. But it was harder said than done. She couldn't just forget about Naruto, Kakashi, Tsunade, Ino, or any of her family-like-friends, just like she couldn't forget about Sasuke and her mother. She was too compassionate a person, just like her shishou had told her many times.

But would she be able to close the pages of her book, and move on to the sequel? Only time would tell. She didn't know how she was going to make it through this, all she knew was she had to, and she had to give it her all. Tsunade had said it herself, failure wasn't an option. It was life or death, and she was going to come out alive, if only to beg for Naruto's forgiveness.

For now, she was going to smile, and act like everything was fine. When she left she could crumble, as long as she could pick herself back up again, and complete what she was assigned.

* * *

The silver-haired jounin was currently staring dumbfounded at the rows upon rows of nail polish at Mugen's. His one dark eye was searching for teal, but when he arrived he realised that he hadn't a clue as to what teal was.

He sighed as he scratched his head near the not of his hitai-ate. He didn't even know why he was doing this, looking for the correct polish, but he felt like he had to, had to play along.

"What would such a handsome man be doing in the women's beauty section?"

He knew that voice, that flirtatious tone. It was just what he needed, he thought sarcastically to himself, as he remembered Sakura mentioning the blonde had gotten a part-time job here.

He turned to face her. "Your just the person I need, actually." he said more to himself, than the excited looking blonde. She would know what teal was.

"Am I?" she whispered seductively, "Well, how may I help, _Kakashi?"_

"Teal." he went on ignoring her tone, "I'm looking for teal, but I don't know what colour that is."

"Eh, teal." Ino echoed, wrinkling her nose. "Are you sure, it's just that.. It's not really Shizune's colour."

Kakashi felt his cheeks warm, and was thankful for his mask. Ino, he thought, just where do you get your information from. He was sure he and Shizune kept to themselves enough in public that nobody would suspect. "I'm not buying this for Shizune."

"Are you sure?" she whispered as she linked her arm through his, "If she found out you were buying expensive items for another woman, I'm sure she'd be, you know, _jealous."_

"What are you talking about, Ino, its for Sakura."

"Sakura?" she hissed stepping back, and unlinking their arms.

"Yes, Sakura. Now do you mind helping me out."

She stared at him a long moment, her eyes smouldering with challenge. The challenge wasn't directed at him though, but Sakura, he knew. And it wasn't good. Ino was a strange creature, a very _unique_ species. As interesting as she was, he didn't have time for this. "Ino?" he went on impatiently.

"Oh, yes, well." she started. She reached for a bluish-green bottle and handed it to him. "Teal." she assured him, ushering him of to the till. "Is that all?"

"Hai. Thanks Ino."

"Anytime Kakashi." and though she said it politely, he knew she was a little ticked. He couldn't understand why though. He would never be with her, she was too young for one, Sakura's best female friend.. And then there was the issue of _Shizune. _A very appealing issue.

* * *

"I found a teal polish." Kakashi announced as he arrived back in Sakura's hospital room.

"..but I don't have teal."

"I know," he went on, "but you seemed really upset so I brought you some."

"Oh, you shouldn't have. Thank you."

Sakura walked out of the bathroom fully dressed in her new kimono. It was the perfect size, not too big, but not too small. The obi was tied like butterfly wings at the back. She held her right hand casually against her neck, over the seal. She hoped Kakashi hadn't already seen it, but if he had, he didn't mention it.

"You look.. lovely."

"Lovely..?"

"Yes, well.." he trailed off unsure of what to say, and feeling a little awkward again.

"Thanks again." she paused for a moment, "Listen, Kakashi. You've been such a star, and honestly, I'll never be able to repay you for all this; but I just want you to know that I realise you've gone out of your way for me, and I really appreciate it."

"Well, too be honest, it wasn't a big deal." he admitted, slinging an arm around her shoulder, "Your like a daughter to me Sakura, I'll do anything for you, you should know that by now."

Sakura felt her eyes prickle but smiled non-the-less. He was never so nice, and she felt so much more closer to him than she ever had.

And she was going to lose it all.

"Your kinda, sort of.. like _a dad to me_." she whispered, trying to hold in a fresh wave of sobs.

He gripped her tighter, but he didn't say anything more. He was just there for her, and that's all she ever needed, a silent but sturdy support.

"Kakashi, do you have a roll of bandages I could borrow, it's just.."

"Sure." he walked back over to the wardrobe and took out the bag. "Here. There's a box inside with different coloured silk strips. Thought they'd be prettier than bandages."

She took it gingerly in her hands, and she saw Kakashi's eye zoom in on her neck. She felt exposed. Like he'd just found out a dirty secret. She gazed into his coal eye, feeling lost, vulnerable.

He didn't speak. He stepped forward, opening up the bag, and pulling out the velvet box. Once open, he pulled out a sleek black strip and slowly tied it around her neck, covering the fan.

"This one should do." he said stepping back, "Its black so it blends in with the collar of your kimono, and matches."

She stood stiff as a board. She didn't understand why he was acting so aloof about it, she was thankful but confused. She felt him slip a pair of flip flops on her bare feet. And as she peered down, she spotted the medium sized butterfly sat atop her toes; and funny enough the sequins were teal. It was beautiful, everything was so beautiful. Kakashi had done so much for her. She wanted to laugh and cry. Then she sniffled, "So, I feel bad ditching you after you did all this, but I should go. Naruto will be waiting."

"Yes, of course." he held out his arm, "Can I at least escort you outside."

Sliding the bag on her shoulder, she took his offered arm and let him lead the way.

"And, Sakura, don't worry about it."

She nodded in understanding, glad that he didn't judge, or make a big deal out of it. As far as she was concerned, the seal meant that Sasuke was still apart of her life, and hopefully still would in the future.

* * *

It was roughly noon by the time Sakura made her way to the cemetery. Kakashi had walked her home so she could splash on a little make up to cover her slightly puffy face; she didn't wear too much though, besides she had a good reason to be upset and tearful today.

She weaved in and out of the flat headstones, until she approached the ivory stone of her mothers. Her's and Naruto's flowers were still there. A few blossom petals had fallen, but the cherry tree was in full bloom, creating a light shade over the grassy area.

It was the perfect place for a picnic, there with her Okaa-san, and Naruto when he decided to stroll on by. She was feeling a little peckish too. She would just have to get something later, she thought as she kneeled in the cool grass, stroking the granite surface lovingly.

"I've missed you, Mama." she whispered, and as the soft breeze whipped round her, she knew she was there. "I.. I just feel so lost, you know. I've got this big mission, every ones being so nice, especially Sempai. And fate decided to give me this _ridiculous_ seal."

A single blossom floated along the wind and stuck to her nose, tickling slightly, just like her mothers hair used to when she was embracing her, giggling. "You can stop laughing now, it's really not that funny, Mama. What's pig going to say if she see's it. It looks like a friggin' tattoo."

She stopped to laugh at the picture of Ino's face when she tried to explain her way out of it. "I suppose it is a little funny, I'm glad you could show me the humour to it."

She flopped into the green earth, her pink strands sprawling out, like an abstract painting. Bright and vibrant against the dull grass.

She thought for a minute about what Kakashi had said earlier.

"_Your like a daughter to me Sakura, I'll do anything for you, you should know that by now."_

"Okaa-san," she took in a deep breath as she slowly sat back up, "who is my Otou-san..? Why don't I know who he is?"

She realised with a twist of her stomach that she didn't know anything about her mothers life before she was born. What kind of daughter was she? She didn't know her grandparents from either side, who her father was, who her mother's childhood crush was, she didn't know _anything… _except for the basics. She went by the name Haruno. She had long brownish, reddish, plum coloured hair; a set of deep brown, warm eyes; a big heart; purple was her favourite colour and she loved to read medical books.. She never got married; she took care of Sakura's team.. She loved to be called care-bear and Okaa-bear..

But that was it.. That was her mother, it was all she knew.

She had a surname name, but no family. An old team, where were they..? Sakura's father, but where was he..?

She crawled back over to her mothers stone, and stroked her finger tips over the engraved kanji that read, '_Haruno Rin',_ where are your precious people Mama..? Where are they..?

Leaning forward, she embraced the stone, like she was hugging her mother, and sobbed for the second time that day, feeling the cool marble beneath her heated skin. Her head was full of questions, some that could be answered with time, and some that wouldn't. But the main question was:

_If I don't know who you are, Mama, how am I supposed to know who I am..?_


End file.
